Keeping eye on Anak Krakatau

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Bad weather and an ash column hampered efforts to assess whether Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano island would trigger another deadly tsunami as authorities said Friday that the search for victims in the worst-affected province will continue into January.

Indonesia’s disaster agency said that 426 people died in the Sunda Strait tsunami that struck Sumatra and Java without warning last Saturday. That was slightly lower than previously announced because some victims were recorded twice. It said 23 are missing and more than 40,000 displaced.

High seas, clouds and constant eruptions have hindered attempts to visually inspect Anak Krakatau, which was created by the infamous Krakatau volcano whose eruption in 1883 caused a period of global cooling. A large part of the volcano collapsed after an eruption last Saturday, triggering the tsunami.

Authorities have warned Sunda Strait residents to stay about a half mile away from the coastline, citing the potential for another tsunami.

Gegar Prasetya, co-founder of the Tsunami Research Center Indonesia, said the severity of another potential tsunami could be less because satellite radar shows the volcano is now much smaller.

The tsunami hit more than 186 miles of coastline with waves of about 6½ feet or higher.

“According to the theory and my past research, the severity of the potential tsunami is reduced significantly. This morning we tried to take an aerial photo from the plane to confirm the satellite image but failed due to cloud cover,” Prasetya said.

The disaster agency said the emergency period for Banten province in Java ends Jan. 9 and on Friday for Lampung province in Sumatra.

About 1,600 people have been evacuated from Sebesi island nearest Anak Krakatau and the remaining residents from its population of more than 2,800 were expected to be transported Friday, the agency said.

Sulphur and thick ash from the continually erupting volcano has blanketed the island.

Indonesia on Thursday raised the danger level for the island volcano and more than doubled its no-go zone to 3 miles. Janine Krippner, a New Zealand-born volcanologist at Concord University in West Virginia, said it’s hard to assess the risk of another Anak Krakatau collapse and tsunami because authorities don’t know how stable its remaining edifice is.

AP/FAUZY CHANIAGO An Indonesian navy team watches Friday as the Anak Krakatau volcano spews ash in waters of the Sunda Strait. The ash, bad weather and high seas hampered efforts to assess the danger of another deadly tsunami like the one last weekend that left 426 people dead.