Video: '27th August 1883: The eruption of Krakatoa'

(Monday, August 27, 1883, 10:02 a.m. BMT; during the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa) — The most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history occurred this morning when Krakatoa — a small, uninhabited island west of Sumatra in Indonesia — erupted with a series of cataclysmic explosions.

The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa in the Sunda Strait, which occurred from May 20 to Oct. 21, 1883, peaked this morning when over 70% of the island of Krakatoa and its surrounding archipelago were destroyed as it collapsed into a caldera.

Video: 'Krakatoa - The Great Volcanic Eruption'

The explosion was heard 1,930 miles away in Perth, Western Australia, and Rodrigues near Mauritius, 3,000 miles away. The acoustic pressure wave circled the globe more than three times.

At least 36,417 deaths are attributed to the eruption and the tsunamis it created.

Video: 'Krakatoa: Devastating Explosion | How the Earth Was Made (S1, E3) | Full Episode | History'

Significant additional effects were felt worldwide in the days and weeks after the volcano’s eruption.

Additional seismic activity was reported until February 1884, but any reports after October 1883 were dismissed by Rogier Verbeek’s subsequent investigation into the eruption.