Krakatau Volcano, 1883 Eruption - John Seach

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.

27th May
Sightseers visited the island and saw explosions every five or ten minutes.

Mid June
The top of Perboewtan was blown off in an eruption.

Mid July
Pumice floating in the Sunda Strait.

11th August
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.

27th August
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 Batavia.

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 world.
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:
Tsunamis: 32,000
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.


More on Krakatau Volcano...