Locals people unfazed by Krakatau activity
The Jakarta Post, Tanjung Lesung, Anyer
Hariyanto, 34, sailed his boat into the Sunda Strait on Saturday afternoon as he always does, ignoring warnings that Mount Anak Krakatau had come back to life with mild earthquakes rattling its crater in the last few days.
The man, who works at Tanjung Lesung Beach Club, said he did not feel a thing when a 5.6 Richter scale earthquake occurred last Friday. He said that such tremors were a common event for him as well the rest of the locals living in the area.
"We have earthquakes almost every day. There's nothing so special about yesterday's quake. It didn't prevent me from offering a Krakatau trip to visitors," said the man who experienced even bigger quakes in 1992.
Warsa, a former head of Tanjung Jaya village, where the beach club is located, told The Jakarta Post that he had not heard of anyone among the 200 families living in the village preparing to evacuate.
"No one is preparing to leave the village. All we do is monitor the situation by watching TV and organizing a night watch, in case sudden changes happen while people are asleep," the retired army sergeant said.
Some five kilometers from Tanjung Lesung, people gathered at a small food stall late at night talking about their opportunities to earn more income by selling land or catching more fish instead of discussing plans to evacuate.
According to Habib, an owner of a kiosk at Citeureup, the people have not received any warnings from the local administration to start preparing to evacuate.
"Neither subdistrict nor district heads have informed us of anything. All the information about Anak Krakatau comes from the TV. Besides, if something bad were about to happen, the elders here would have already informed us," Habib said.
People at Tanjung Lesung believe that if the volcano is going to erupt, nature will give signs and the animals will be anxious.
"Like what I experienced in 1992. Before Mount Anak Krakatau erupted, monkeys and storks were making a lot of noise," Hariyanto explained.
At Anyer Beach, about an hour and a half from Tanjung Lesung, local merchants were thronging the beach and traditional market on Sunday expecting to sell their goods to hundreds of tourists visiting the beach. They were disappointed when they found out that many tourists did not come to the beach because of the warnings.
Oji, a young man who offers surfboards for rent and banana- boat rides at the beach, said that he often saw smoke coming out of the mountain, but that it had never harmed the people of Anyer.
"We, the people of Banten, are also afraid to die. But volcano smoke and tremors are everyday experiences here," said the man that believes that if the mountain erupts, it would attract foreigners who would come to get a closer look.
A Mount Anak Krakatau observation station located in Pasauran, Anyer, recorded mild earthquakes occurring every day throughout the year. In April, 10 to 70 mild quakes occurred, with the biggest number of earthquakes occurring on April 4, when 78 moderate tremors took place.
"You could die anywhere in this world. Why should I be panic, when it wouldn't help? Yes, I watch TV and listen to government warnings. But above everything else, I submit myself to Allah," Oji said. (006)