Anak Krakatau reduced to quarter of its original size

The volcanic Mount Anak Krakatau, also known as the 'angry child of Krakatoa', which had triggered a devastating tsunami striking the Sunda Strait here on the night of December 22, has reduced to a quarter of its size, Indonesia's Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation confirmed.

The Anak Krakatoa that had a height measuring 338 metres is now only 110 metres tall. It has also recorded reduction in its volume by of 40-70 million cubic metres after losing 150-180 million cubic metres since the eruption of December 22, AL Jazeera reported.

In addition to this, according to CNN, further eruptions from December 24 to 27 had reportedly led to a loss in the volume by 150 million to 180 million cubic meters of the volcano. The eruption on December 22 caused a chunk of Anak Krakatau to slide into the Indian Ocean.

The Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) had affirmed that the deadly tsunami, occurred as a result of underwater landslide and the collapse of the southwest part of the Krakatoa volcano, left 429 people dead in the region and over thousand injured. The tsunami also resulted in the displacement of approximately forty thousand people.

However, Indonesia has rerouted all fights around Anak Krakatoa and has asked people to beware of lightning, landslides and floods due to heavy rains, in the wake of continuous eruptions, raising the alert for the volcano from Level II to Level III.

The agency has further asked people to stay 500 metres away from the coastline in Sunda Strait. Dwikorita Karnawati, the head of BMKG further said that the wall of the volcano's crater is susceptible to collapse, according to Al Jazeera.