Fears of a SECOND tsunami in Indonesia grow as volcano erupts again and flights are diverted as death toll hits 430 with 1,500 injured
Indonesia raised alert level for erupting volcano to the second-highest over fears of another devastating wave
All flights ordered to avoid area of Anak Krakatau as authorities warn of second collapse causing a landslide
A 5km exclusion zone set up around the island by the national geological agency as part of raising threat level
The death toll as of Boxing Day had risen to 430, with nearly 1,500 people injured and another 159 missing
Along the coast, thousands of people are staying in tents and temporary shelters like mosques or schools
This year Indonesia has suffered its worst annual death toll from natural disasters in more than a decade
CHRIS DYER
DAILYMAIL.COM
27 December 2018
Indonesia raised the alert level for the erupting Anak Krakatau volcano to the second-highest today, and ordered all flights to avoid the area, just days after it triggered a tsunami that killed at least 430 people.
A crater collapse on the volcanic island at high tide on Saturday sent waves up to 16 feet (5 metres) high smashing into the coast on the Sunda Strait, between the islands of Java and Sumatra.
Authorities have warned that the crater of Anak Krakatau, or child of Krakatau, remains fragile, raising fears of another collapse and tsunami, and have urged residents to stay away from the coast.
The volcano has been rumbling on and off since July but has been particularly active since Sunday, spewing lava and rocks, and sending huge clouds of ash up to 3,000 metres into heavily overcast skies.
The national geological agency, in raising the alert level to the second-highest, set a 5km exclusion zone around the island.
Antonius Ratdomopurbo, secretary of the geological agency, said: ‘Since December 23, activity has not stopped, We anticipate a further escalation.’
A thin layer of volcanic ash has been settling on buildings, vehicles and vegetation along the west coast of Java since late on Wednesday, according to images shared by the national disaster mitigation agency.
Authorities said the ash was not dangerous, but advised residents to wear masks and goggles when outside, while aircraft were ordered away.
‘All flights are rerouted due to Krakatau volcano ash on red alert,’ the government air-traffic control agency AirNav said in a statement.
The civil aviation authority said no airports would be affected. The capital, Jakarta, is about 155 km east of the volcano.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, national disaster agency spokesman, said: ‘There is a danger of more eruptions. People [near the volcano] could be hit by hot rocks, pyroclastic flows and thick ash.’
Authorities raised the crater’s status to high alert, the second-highest warning on the country’s four-point danger scale, while aviation officials ordered flights to be redirected away from the area.
Kus Hendratno, a senior official at the Krakatoa observatory, said: ‘We’ve raised the status of [the volcano] since this morning because there’s been a change in the eruption pattern.’
The new flows posed no immediate danger to area towns as the volcano sits in the middle of the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra islands.
But the status change sparked new fears with many residents already scared and refusing to return to their communities over fears of another tsunami.
Ugi Sugiarti, a cook at the Augusta Hotel in hard-hit Carita, said: ‘This worries me. I’ve already left.’
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