In 1883, the volcano then known as Krakatoa erupted in one of the biggest blasts in recorded history, killing more than 36,000 people in a series of tsunami and lowering the global surface temperature by one degree Celsius with its ash.
Anak Krakatau is the island that emerged from the area in 1927 and has been growing ever since.
Indonesia is a vast archipelago that sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire". This year, the country has suffered its worst annual death toll from disasters in more than a decade.
The latest tsunami disaster, coming during the Christmas season, evoked memories of the Indian Ocean tsunami triggered by an earthquake on Dec. 26, 2004, which killed 226,000 people in 14 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.
Tsunami warning systems were set up after 2004 but they have failed to prevent subsequent disasters, often because apparatus has not been maintained properly, while public education and disaster preparation efforts have been patchy at best.
Ramdi Tualfredi, a teacher in the village of Cigondong, on Java's west coast, said he had never got any instructions on safety steps and efforts to prepare communities for tsunami had "totally failed".
"There were no preparations. I didn’t get information from anywhere," he said, adding there had been little help for residents since disaster struck.
Nearly 22,000 people were displaced by the tsunami, while 1,495 were injured and 159 are missing.
Most of the displaced are staying in crowded shelters.
Aid is getting through and the government has declared a state of emergency until Jan. 4, to help with the distribution of assistance.
