20th May 1883
A column of ash and steam rose 11
km into sky from Perboewtan (northmost crater on old Krakatau Island).
Ash fell in Southern Sumatra.
Sightseers visited the island and
saw explosions every five or ten minutes.
The top of Perboewtan was blown off
in an eruption.
Pumice floating in the Sunda Strait.
A government surveyer set foot on
the volcano. The volcano was shrouded in ash and the rich forests burnt.
26th August 12:53 pm
The main eruption began with a huge
explosion which was heard 155 km away in Batavia. An ash column rose 36
km high in four hours.
In the afternoon and evening the
explosions became louder and more distinct throughout western Java.
Powerful explosions recorded at 6:36
am, 9:58 am, 10:45 am. In Batavia the temperature was 18 deg C rather
than the usual 27 deg C.
During the morning 30 m high tsunamis
hit the coasts of Java and Sumatra, killing 36,000 people. These were the
most devastating effects of the eruption.
At 12:30 pm a 2 m high tsunami hit
Effects of the eruption
The explosions were heard 4653 km
away on the Island of Rodrigez in the Indian Ocean.
A 2 m high wave was recorded in Auckland,
7767 km away.
A bank of pumice floated to Durban,
South Africa by September 1884, over a year after the eruption.
Volcanic dust and gases reached the
stratosphere and circled the world in two weeks.
Beautiful sunsets were visible around
The old island of Krakatau was destroyed.
The former volcanic cones of Perboewatan and Danan fell into a hole in
the crust which flooded with sea water. Only the southern part of Rakata
remained. Two-thirds of the original island was destroyed.
Two temporary islands were formed
from pumice - Steers and Calmejer. They were eventually eroded by the waves.
Total fatalities 36,417.
Causes of death:
Nuee ardentes: 4,400
Deaths according to area.
Ketimbang (Sumatra) 8,038
Teloeq Betoeng (Sumatra) 2,260
Semangka (Sumatra) 2,160
Tjiringin (Java) 12,022
Anjer (Java) 7,610
Tangerang (Java) 2,340
Serang (Java) 1,933
165 villages were totally destroyed
and another 132 damaged.
Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatau)
was born in December 1927.