Mount Anak Krakatau, the volcanic island born from the catastrophic 1883 eruption of Krakatoa in Indonesia's Sunda Strait, erupted violently early Saturday morning, sending a towering column of ash and pyroclastic material more than 15 kilometres into the atmosphere.
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta's main aviation hub serving over 60 million passengers annually, was forced to halt all departures and arrivals as volcanic ash contaminated airspace across western Java and southern Sumatra.
Indonesia's Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation elevated the alert level for the volcano to Level IV — the highest tier — and urged residents in coastal areas of Banten and Lampung provinces to remain at least five kilometres from the shoreline due to the risk of volcanic tsunamis.
Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air, and several regional carriers cancelled a combined total of 87 scheduled flights. Airlines across Southeast Asia are rerouting long-haul services to avoid the ash cloud, which is drifting northwest toward the Indian Ocean.
"We are deploying additional monitoring buoys in the Sunda Strait and coordinating with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to ensure rapid early warning capability," said Dr. Hendra Gunawan, head of the national geological agency.
