The seismic activity that led up to the Krakatoa eruption began several months before. Starting in May of 1883, steam and smoke began venting from the northernmost cone, known as Perboewatan.

Krakatoa erupting in 1883. Credit: Leiden University Libraries, Public Domain In the quiet Vasse district of WA, the evening of 27 August 1883 must have felt like something out of a mystery novel.

This week in 1883, Krakatoa, a volcano on an uninhabited island between Sumatra and Java, violently erupted. Volcanic dust spewed into the atmosphere. Huge tsunami waves swept across the region.