On the 27th of August, 1883, one of the biggest and loudest eruptions ever happend: the eruption of the Krakatoa. It has a 6 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index, which is about 4 times more than the biggest nuclear bomb ever detonated. The eruption was heard over 3,000 miles and because the krakatoa is located on an island (Rakata Besar), the eruption caused a huge tsunami with waves of 30 meters high. The tsunami hit the cost of Java and Sumatra and thousands of people were killed by the huge flood caused by the tsunami.

Before the volcano erupted, the Rakata Besar was an uninhabited island with 3 peaks. When the Krakatoa erupted, the 2 other peaks were collapsed in sea by huge explosians, and the third peak collapsed for two thirds into the sea and eventually, it collapsed at all. But after years, the volcano slowly grew up again. This volcano is now called 'Anak Krakatoa', which means the 'child' of the krakatoa.

During the eruption, the Krakatoa volcano was burst into 2 parts (how that could happen, you'll read in 'how is it formed') which causes a very loud sound which could be heard over 3.000 miles. Because the volcano was burst into 2 parts, there starts a pyroclastic flow, which goes into the sea and causes a huge tsunami (see picture). The tsunami contained waves of over 30 meters high and the coasts of Java and Sumatra were completely destroyed by the huge flood caused by the tsunami. Thousands of people were killed and more than a million people lost there homes (you can find more information about this in 'consequences').

More than 12 km3 ash was blasted out of the volcano and 20 million tons of sulfur were released into the atmosphere, which caused a worldwide reducing of temperature of 1.2 ˚C for 5 years.