These Are The Deadliest Natural Disasters In Modern History

Eruption of Krakatoa, 1883

On August 26, 1883, in the Dutch East Indies, the volcano Krakatoa began to erupt. By August 27, over 70 percent of the island was destroyed and collapsed into a caldera.

The most destructive volcano in recorded history, the eruption sent an ash cloud 22 miles above the island and was heard as far as 2,800 miles away. After the eruption, Krakatoa fell into the ocean, creating a tsunami 120 feet high, carrying a steamship one mile inland. Over 36,000 deaths were attributed to the eruption as well as the earthquakes and tsunamis that followed.