Krakatoa Erupts

August 27, 1883

The volcanic island of Krakatoa in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra exploded with the force of thirteen thousand Hiroshima bombs. The sound was heard three thousand miles away in Rodrigues Island. Tsunamis killed thirty-six thousand people. Sunsets turned blood-red around the world for a year. The telegraph carried the news in hours - the first global disaster.