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View all search resultsVolcanic eruptions take toll on economy
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Mount Anak Krakatau spews lava on Sept. 5, 2026, from Pasauran village in Serang, Banten. (Reuters/Rikardo)
T
he government and analysts have warned that the ongoing volcanic eruptions across Indonesia will affect economic growth, but putting a number on the damage is impossible for now.
“Impacted regions will certainly contract” economically, Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto said on Monday, adding that the government was “monitoring the impact of the eruptions of five, six volcanoes in Indonesia, particularly the significant decline in people’s [economic] activity”.
Indonesian authorities currently categorize six volcanoes as alert level 3, which signifies an increase in volcanic activity whereby eruptions may occur, just one step shy of the final level that describes a high likelihood of an imminent, substantially more dangerous eruption.
Two of those six are Lewotobi Laki-Laki and Ili Lewotok, both of which are located in East Nusa Tenggara, a region that last month suffered an earthquake of magnitude 7.7 on the Richter scale.
In addition, the list includes Ibu in North Maluku, Sinabung in North Sumatra and Semeru in East Java, all of which have recently erupted.
While Sinabung was only recently upgraded to alert level 3, the other two have retained that label since the start of the year and have been sporadically erupting for some time, including this week.
However, the one that made global headlines is the Anak Krakatau volcano off the coast of Lampung, which saw a continuous 25-hour eruption last weekend, spewing volcanic ash that the wind blew over to Jakarta, 140 kilometers away, and a wide area of western Java.
