Krakatoa erupts
In August 1883 the volcanic island of Krakatoa tore itself apart in one of the most violent eruptions in recorded history. Tsunamis killed more than 36,000 people along the coasts of Java and Sumatra, the blast was heard nearly 4,800 km away, and ash in the upper atmosphere turned sunsets red around the world for months.
See it on the globe
What happened
Krakatoa had been rumbling since May 1883, but on 26 and 27 August the volcano in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra destroyed itself in a series of colossal explosions. The final blast, on the morning of the 27th, is often called the loudest sound in recorded history: it was heard on the island of Rodrigues, nearly 4,800 km away, and barometers around the world registered its pressure wave several times as it circled the globe.
The eruption collapsed most of the island into the sea and drove tsunamis up to 30 metres high onto the coasts of Java and Sumatra. More than 36,000 people died, most of them in coastal towns such as Anyer and Merak, which were simply washed away.
Ash and sulphur thrown into the stratosphere lowered global temperatures for several years and turned sunsets a lurid red across Europe and North America. Fire brigades in New York were called out to what looked like distant blazes. Because news travelled by the new undersea telegraph cables, Krakatoa was also one of the first natural disasters the whole world followed almost as it happened.
Part of a collection
- When nature struck. Volcanoes, earthquakes, storms and droughts that destroyed cities, moved whole populations and changed how people build and plan.
Around the same time
- The Eiffel Tower and the 1889 World's Fair, Paris, France, 1887 to 1889
- The first modern Olympic Games, Athens, Greece, 1896
- The San Francisco earthquake and fire, San Francisco, USA, 1906
- The Panama Canal opens, Panama Canal Zone, 1904 to 1914
Later: The Eiffel Tower and the 1889 World's Fair, 1887 to 1889
Further reading
Encyclopedia article: 1883 eruption of Krakatoa (en.wikipedia.org)