Krakatoa's Child

The sea did not stay quiet for long. In 1927, a new volcanic island broke the surface inside Krakatoa's drowned caldera, fed by the same magma that had destroyed the old one.

Locals named it Anak Krakatau — "Child of Krakatoa." It grew steadily for decades, rising several feet a year, building a fresh cone exactly where its parent once stood.

The child inherited its parent's violence. In December 2018, one flank of Anak Krakatau suddenly collapsed into the sea during an eruption.

The slide displaced a huge volume of water with no warning, sending a tsunami onto the coasts of Java and Sumatra at night. It killed more than 430 people, a grim reminder that the threat in the Sunda Strait never truly ended.