Residents No Longer Feel Tremors Following Anak Krakatau Eruption
A resident of Pandeglang, Banten, named Bagaz Bathoeta, stated that the booms and vibrations in his home have ceased, noting that he feels much calmer now.
“Since 11:00 WIB today, the vibrations have not been felt. It is much calmer now,” said Bagaz when contacted on Saturday (5/9/2026).
He admitted to hearing loud booms and feeling his house shake since 01:00 WIB. Bagaz noted that the phenomenon of doors and windows vibrating was a first for him.
Bagaz’s house is located approximately 10 kilometres from the shores of the Sunda Strait, the site of the erupting Mount Anak Krakatau. He mentioned that the vibrations and booms were also felt by other residents living in higher elevations.
“Eruptions have happened frequently since long ago, as I am a local resident here. However, this is the first time the continuous vibrations have lasted for such a long duration,” he said.
Bagaz and his neighbours briefly evacuated their homes this morning when the vibrations intensified. The fact that household items shook for several hours caused significant anxiety.
In addition to doors and windows, fences and rooftops also vibrated. In videos shared via social media, the sound of objects scraping against each other could be clearly heard.
“The peak of the sensation occurred this morning. It was quite a tense situation. The intensity fluctuated, weakening and strengthening, but it did not remain at a constant high level,” he added.
He also reported feeling the ground shake. This series of events coincided with the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau.
Source of the Booms
The Head of the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Rita Susilawati, explained why the booms, suspected to be related to the Anak Krakatau eruption, could be heard as far as Bandung, West Java. According to her, acoustic energy from an eruption can travel hundreds of kilometres.
“Based on our observations, not only for Anak Krakatau but also for several other volcanoes in Indonesia, when large eruptions occur—or even not just large ones, but eruptions of certain types, such as phreatic eruptions—they are usually accompanied by loud booms,” Rita stated during a press conference via the Geological Agency’s YouTube channel on Saturday (5/9).
“When this happens, the release of acoustic energy can be very large, and it is this acoustic energy that can propagate for hundreds of kilometres,” she continued.
Rita noted that the long-distance propagation of eruption sounds is not an impossible phenomenon, citing the explosive eruption of Mount Kelud on 13 February 2014 as an example.
Therefore, based on monitoring data, she stated that the sound of booms can be heard from great distances. However, she could not yet confirm the exact cause of the booms, though she suspects they originate from the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau.
“As we have stated, we strongly suspect that the sound heard earlier is related to the eruption of Anak Krakatau that occurred last night,” she concluded.