TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG), Geological Agency, reminds the public not to be lured by misleading information regarding the activities of Mount Anak Krakatau Volcano recently raised to Alert status. The warning came after a video circulated on social media recording a large eruption of the volcano in the middle of the sea at night. It is emphasized that the video recorded from a ship is not the most recent eruption of Anak Krakatau Volcano. The contents of the video, an explosion of fire vertically into the sky, are confirmed to be false information or a hoax. PVMBG asks the public not to believe, let alone disseminate, unverified information like that.
Based on official monitoring data, Anak Krakatau Volcano has indeed recorded two eruptions, on Thursday, July 2, 2026, at 14:05 WIB (Western Indonesian Time) and Friday, July 3, 2026, at 11:50 WIB. However, the volcanic activity is still under intensive supervision by officials.
“All official information regarding Anak Krakatau Volcano’s activities is only conveyed through the official channels of the Geological Agency or PVMBG and MAGMA Indonesia,” said Lana Saria, acting head of the Geological Agency, in her statement on Saturday, July 4, 2026.
Anak Krakatau has a long history of impactful volcanic activity. The massive eruption in 1883 triggered a large tsunami. A similar event occurred again on December 22, 2018, when an earthquake-triggered eruption caused part of the mountain to collapse and resulted in a tsunami in the Sunda Strait.
Since then, she said, low-scale eruption activities have continued until December 16, 2023, as part of the mountain’s regrowth phase. Although it is currently in an eruption hiatus, Lana continued, low-energy magmatic activities are still ongoing.
Lana clarified another rumor claiming that the danger radius of Mount Anak Krakatau Volcano reached five kilometers. This information is confirmed to be false. “The current official recommendation is that the public, tourists, and fishermen are not allowed to engage in activities within a three-kilometer radius from the center of Anak Krakatau Volcano’s eruption,” she said.
Currently, the status of Mount Anak Krakatau Volcano is at Level III or Alert. In its technical recommendations, Lana urged the communities around the volcano to increase vigilance against the potential of pyroclastic flows, lava flow, flying rock debris, and heavy ash rain.
“People in the coastal areas of Banten and Lampung provinces are advised to remain calm and not to believe rumors about the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau Volcano that may cause a tsunami, and to carry on with their activities as usual while always following the local BPBD’s guidance,” she said.
Read: Mount Anak Krakatau Status Escalated to Level III Alert
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