PVMBG Explains Mysterious Booms in West Java During Anak Krakatau Eruption
The Head of the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG), under the Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Rita Susilawati, has addressed the mysterious booms and vibrations felt by residents in the Greater Bandung area from Friday night (4/9/202lar) to early Saturday (5/9/2026).
This mysterious phenomenon coincided with the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau, located in the waters of the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. According to Rita, the booms heard in several parts of West Java, including Greater Bandung, are suspected to be related to the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau.
“Reports of booms and vibrations were also made by the community in several areas of West Java, Banten, and Lampung. Regarding these booms, we suspect there is a connection to the eruptive activity of Mount Anak Krakatau occurring at the same time,” said Rita, as quoted by Republika from a Zoom broadcast on Saturday (5/9/2026).
She stated that the propagation of sound from the Mount Anak Krakatau eruption could potentially be heard at great distances, reaching West Java. A similar phenomenon occurred during the eruption of Mount Kelud in East Java, where the boom was felt as far as Central Java, a significant distance from the eruption source.
“The long-distance propagation of eruption sounds is not an impossible phenomenon. We saw this during the eruption of Mount Kelud on 13 February 2014, where the boom could be heard in several parts of Central Java, far from the source,” Rita explained.
She further elaborated on the causes of volcanic eruptions producing audible booms over long distances. Large-scale eruptions or specific categories of activity, such as those occurring at Mount Anak Krakatau, are typically accompanied by loud explosions.
“When this occurs, the release of acoustic energy can be very large. It is this acoustic energy that can propagate for hundreds of kilometres. Investigations are underway, and it can indeed be heard in distant regions,” said Rita.
She added that the Geology Team is currently conducting further investigations into the link between the Mount Anak Krakatau eruption and the booms felt in several parts of West Java.
“Although we suspect it is related to Anak Krakatau, the temporal coincidence is an indication of a correlation that does not, by itself, definitively prove the exact source of the boom,” she clarified.