This photo shows the Anak Krakatau volcano erupting in Indonesia in 2009
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on January 15, 2020 at 03:40
- 2 min read
- By AFP Philippines
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The photo was published here on Facebook on January 12, 2020. It has been shared more than 1,500 times.
Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:
The Tagalog-language post translates to English as: "taal volcano has seriously exploded...water has risen.it's raining mud ..nonstop earthquakes..all trees have fallen from the weight of dust and a bridge here was broken. lord jesus help and protect us please.amen”.
The Taal volcano began spewing ash on January 12, 2020, prompting warnings of a possible “explosive eruption”. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from the area, as reported here by AFP on January 14, 2020.
The photo has been shared in a misleading context; it shows the Anak Krakatau volcano erupting in Indonesia in 2009.
A reverse image search on TinEye found the photo published by UK-based photo agency Alamy here.
Below is a screenshot of the photo on Alamy's website:
The caption reads: “Powerful volcanic night-time eruption from Anak Krakatau volcano, Sunda Strait, Indonesia”.
It states the photo was taken in July 2009.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading Facebook post (L) and the photo on the Alamy website (R):
Alamy credits the photo to Tom Pfeiffer, who has also shared the photo in an album entitled “Anak Krakatau volcano” on his Flickr account here.
Below is a screenshot of the photo on Pfeiffer’s Flickr page:
It is captioned: “A very violent vulcanian explosion at the new lava dome of Anak Krakatau volcano throws hundreds of lava bombs several hundreds meters into the sky and all over the S-SE part of the island. Some blocks even land in the sea (visible on enlarged versions). Taken on 2 July 2009 at 18h54 local time (GMT+7).”
Here is an AFP video report published on January 12, 2020 about activity at the Taal volcano. The video has been embedded below.
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