Historic Disasters That Were Way Worse Than People Think

Historic Disasters That Were Way Worse Than People Think

Khalid Elhassan - April 6, 2020

Historic Disasters That Were Way Worse Than People Think
Krakatoa Island before the eruption (bottom) and after (top). Bibliotica Nacional de Espana

29. Krakatoa Broke The Sound Record Twice in a Single Day

Krakatoa’s 10:02 AM eruption was the loudest sound in recorded history until then, but that record did not last for long. At 10:41, a fourth and more powerful eruption occurred, that at 310 decibels was almost twice as loud as the previous one. It was loud enough to rupture eardrums at a distance of 40 miles, and was clearly heard from 3100 miles away.

A tsunami with a wall of water up to 120 feet high raced out. Ash was flung 50 miles up into the sky by an explosion that produced a pressure wave that was recorded in barometers all over the world. It appeared on global barometers not once, but seven times, as the pressure wave raced around the planet for five days. It kept circling the globe and coming back to the volcano, and continuing on, again and again and again, still powerful enough to register on barometers everywhere on earth as it circled the planet multiple times.

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