Original subtitles

NARRATOR: On August 26, 1883,

the volcano erupted on the small volcanic island of Krakatau,

this caused one of the worst natural disasters in written history.

Hundreds of cities were created in less than 48 hours and villages destroyed.

More than 36,000 people lost their lives.

(shouting)

No, you shouldn't ...

(shouting)

Those who survived the eruption left diaries, after eyewitness explanations and after news.

They were collected by the geologist Rogier Verbeek,

one of the few scientists who experienced the eruption.

This film is based on their reports.

VERBEEK: (IN VOICEOVER) I stayed alive. Tens of thousands of others don't.

Some were my friends.

I have had the last two years of my life

tried the horrible events of August 1883 to get together.

We lived in the most volcanic region of our planet,

Indonesia.

There are more than a hundred here active volcanoes.

Krakatau is 1 of them.

The volcanic island of Krakatau is in the middle of Sunda Street,

45 kilometers from the mainland.

For centuries people lived here in it view of the volcano.

We didn't think that was dangerous.

I could have saved these people.

They became witnesses of the last days, when the world changed forever.

The contracts for the pepper have been issued

at the usual 2.5%

that will give us more revenue than Mr. De Vries initially ...

(quake)

(hinning horse)

It happens again mama, the world shivers again.

(shaking glass)

(crying baby)

I win! I win!

WILHELMINA: you cheat. PIETER: No you are.

How much money do we still have in the savings account?

Nothing, tuan. and we are also at least ...

75 guilders interest owed ...

-Willem? -If we don't get that commission from those coolies ...

The horses are upset.

I'll take a look.

Don't worry, I'll take care of it.

Willem, have you thought about it?

What have you thought about?

Please.

Johanna, I'm sorry but I can't leave Katimbang.

The harvest must be arranged, the market is open Sunday, it really is not possible.

-Maybe within a few weeks ... - But what about all those quakes?

-They are getting worse. - You just imagine that.

It has been shaking for months now.

Please, Johanna, you're going to get sick of anxiety.

Sorry but I can't help it.

- By the way, where should we go? -Does not matter.

To Batavia or the farm or ...

I don't know, I'm sorry.

I'm just going to the horses.

VERBEEK: The Beijerincks.

Willem was the inspector of Katimbang, a Dutch outpost.

He could barely live on his meager salary.

His wife Johanna was 26 years old and they had three children.

we met several times that summer and never agreed.

I should have listened to her.

In May of 1883 I visited the Schuit family.

There were rumors about increased volcano activity,

I wanted to see that for myself.

The Schuit family was a Dutch family who lived and worked at the Fourth Point lighthouse,

The lighthouse was 1.5 kilometers east of Krakatau.

Magnificent! Is not she Lovely?

Is it dangerous?

yes of course it is dangerous if you were on top of it,

but not here, there is more than 45 kilometers sea ​​between us.

You are in the first row! Enjoy this show!

This is Krakatau with its 3 peaks.

JOSEF: Where did you go ashore?

-About here - Were you not scared?

Anxious? No.

I was far too busy collecting monsters and the dangers of the jungle.

Why did the volcano explode? The eruption, I mean.

Do you still have that piece of pumice that I have did you show?

Yes.

We have to live here.

Oh, it's just Rogier, please.

No, it's not about him, it's ...

VERBEEK: Be the answer to your question the bubbles.

- I'm worried. -Can you see them?

It looks like beer, it is full of bubbles.

If you shake a bottle of beer it causes pressure in the bottle,

The bubbles want to get out, they can't! Until ... Whoa!

Josef, it's already late you have to go to bed. Say goodnight to Mr. Verbeek.

Good night, Josef, I enjoyed talking to you.

You can keep that.

Thank you. Two scientists sharing knowledge.

CATHARINA: Shoot Josef.

Wait. Where did you find it?

On the beach, why?

VERBEEK: the pumice that Josef gave me contains the secret of Krakatau.

It was a sign that something was going on deep inside the volcano.

But then I had no idea what that meant.

On May 20 Krakatau started for the first time with spewing out huge amounts of smoke.

We should have considered that as a warning,

but some only saw it as a possibility make money in.

(LINDEMANN sings)

Captain?

Captain?

(pee)

Greet your officer you!

VERBEEK: J H Lindemann, Captain of the Governor General Loudon.

Since the death of his wife and only child 2 year ago,

he could only get ferry passengers travel around the local coastal areas ...

Listen up.

"Join us on a great excursion.

"Come to the stove of the Gods: Krakatau,

"walk on a living volcano, one of the greatest miracles in the world. "

My hotel guests, your ship.

The Loudon is not a pleasure boat.

"Stove of the Gods" is nonsense.

Come on, Lindemann. We earn gold money. Just like before.

Ok I obviously waste my time.

Enjoy the cigar.

Gerrit, high tide is tomorrow morning at 6:00 am

Tell your guests to be on time.

-Daddy! -Daddy!

(speaks Malay dialect)

VERBEEK: Tokaya, Willem Beijerinck's clerk,

was one of the clear Javanese recruited by the Dutch to run the colony.

His loyalty to the Dutch Empire isolated him.

(Speaks Malay dialect)

(Speaks Malay dialect)

VERBEEK: On May 27, 1883,

departed the Loudon steamship with 86 passengers for a day trip to Krakatau.

- Then look at that bunch of crazy people! - Paying fools, Lindemann.

25 guilders per person. Cheers, Captain.

Starboard Mr. Jansen.

-Aye, aye, sir. I don't like that smoke.

Smoke? Lindemann, I smoke, that doesn't make me dangerous.

You count the money, I control the ship.

(Volcano erupts)

Dear God!

(Volcano is rumbling)

Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa.

-How far to Buitenzorg? -1.5 kilometers, sir.

-As quickly as possible! -Hey, hey, hey, hey!

VERBEEK: I didn't know what then the volcano wanted to tell me.

The eruptions were a sign.

The magma made deep beneath the earth a path to the surface.

It was only a matter of time before it broke through.

LINDEMANN: Blow the ship's horn Mr. Jansen. We leave.

What should the guests do then?

I hope they paid in advance. Hard starboard Mr. Jansen.

But ... you can't leave them there?

Why not? They don't have half an hour left.

Watch out with that bag.

Schuurman? Schuurman! Schuurman!

Schuurman.

-Jemig Rogier what's wrong? -The only room with a view, sorry.

- What the hell are you on? -To that.

Krakatau is around 140 kilometers,

3.5 kilometers and ...

divided into two, 75,000.

Then it is almost 3.5 kilometers high.

-Hell. - Exactly.

I know it is out there somewhere.

-I got him. -What is it?

A clue I think, you see?

The pumice looks like from Tambora.

But Tambora was a catastrophic event, biblical.

The crater is 2 kilometers in diameter, I have been there myself.

Krakatau is nothing.

Are you saying that Krakatau will do the same as Tambora?

I don't know what it means. I just do not know.

NARRATOR: All of May to June,

went the three craters of Krakatau by spitting steam.

The gas looked strange blue in the sun and green out.

The inhabitants thought that nothing was wrong,

after all, the volcano was almost 2 kilometers from the coast.

Normal life went on.

Countess.

NARRATOR: Johanna Beijerinck became later questioned by the Dutch authorities.

JOHANNA: It seemed like the quakes a day got worse,

but my husband Willem would not listen.

He was more and more concerned with being business concerns.

(whispering in Malaysian dialect)

(Speaking in Malay dialect)

There is nothing wrong.

It is not right. It is confused, not balanced.

The animals know, they leave.

NARRATOR: As the district controller,

Willem Beijerinck was responsible for the well-being and the safety of all people.

He was kept fully informed about the developments in Krakatau but did nothing.

It looked like he was busy with completely different things.

There is a problem with my license, tuan. I thought the contracts ...

There is nothing wrong with the contracts, tuan, but ...

My man couldn't get coolies for it the pepper harvest, that's all.

- And what about the money? -I need more time.

You promised me, your word as a Dutchman.

Give ... Give me 3 weeks until the harvest.

I'm a businessman, Mr. Beijerinck. I have a license and responsibilities.

Maybe your colleague is interested in Batavia how much you owe me

How dare you!

(gunshot)

(screaming crowd)

(shouting in Malay dialect)

Then the little boy asked,

"Are you ready?

"Shall I awaken the spirit of the mountain?"

And the wind blew.

(imitates the sound of the wind)

And the sea came up.

And the ghost appeared.

"I have been sleeping for years under the mountain.

"Now I am awake and they must learn,

"what it's like to earn revenge

"from the spirit of the mountain."

(explosion)

(everyone holds their breath)

(smiling)

Will she burst? No.

First she starts a few days and goes back to sleep.

-I think you're wrong. -Why?

- Did you watch the animals? -Animals?

They behave strangely.

The monkeys and the birds do not give in no eggs lay in the trees and chickens.

-Does that change your opinion? -No.

I think that should be. The locals have always believed that the mountain was dangerous.

I don't think stupid superstition ....

Maybe it's not a superstition.

Maybe they understand the mountain better than you do.

Sorry but it seems like you're ignoring me ...

Shame on you, a scientist.

VERBEEK: I realized far too late that I shoUld have listened to her.

(EXPLOSIVE RUMBLING)

(DOG BARKING)

Mom.

Beautiful.

(WHISTLING)

This is the last batch, sir.

We'll get them stowed by nightfall, we're leaving with the tide.

Aye, aye, sir.

VERBEEK: At 1 0: 00 a.m. that SUnday,

Captain Lindemann docked at Anjer to pick up a consignment of Chinese workers,

or coolies, as we call them.

Their destination was Telok Betong to the north.

It was a joUrney they'd never complete.

All right, move it up down here and don't stop. Get yourselves down the ladder.

(CHATTERING IN CHINESE)

SAILOR: Two, three, four...

Captain Lindemann, a word if you please.

The bridge is yours, sir.

What is the meaning of loading the ship with coolies?

They're for Controller Beijerinck.

I don't care if they're for the King of Holland, they stink.

-Captain Lindemann. -Hmm?

The coolies.

-They bother you? -They stink.

You ever thought what we smell like to them? Hmm, maybe they're right.

Right about what?

Corpses. They think we smell like the dead.

Good day, gentlemen.

This is unacceptable.

(RUMBLING)

(DOG WHIMPERING)

VERBEEK: The northerly course that Lindemann steered

would take them closer to the volcano than anyone else that day.

We have to change course, Mr Jansen.

Aye, sir. Change course.

Take a bearing from Pulo Soengjan,

set a course for Lampong Bay, 191 degrees.

Place Sebesi out on the port side, and enter the bay from here. Jansen!

Aye, sir, steering course 191 degrees.

Steering course 191 degrees.

What are you doing?

I'm measuring the height of the ash cloud. It's basic mathematics.

But what is it that you do?

I try to understand the world, how it works.

Do you understand the volcano?

It's a complex geological process.

It was formed millions of years ago, before man.

My people...we are not afraid of the volcano.

JOHANNA: That morning, I didn't want to go to the festival.

Willem tried to calm me.

The market opening woUld be a joyous occasion.

I was convinced that something dreadfUl was going to happen.

-What' s the matter? -I just...

-What's wrong? -Nothing.

(EXPLOSION)

(SCREAMING)

-What's happening? -I don't know.

Willem!

It hurts my ears.

-Willem, we must leave. -Wait here, wait here.

-Sergeant! Sergeant! -No, please! Please!

I want you to take the attachment and secure the warehouses.

Maartens, the arsenal, and Fitzrinck, the telegraph office. I want a line open to Batavia.

-Is that clear? -Yes, sir.

I need a detachment in the town and on the coast road. Now, go!

-Willem, please! -You have your orders. Go, go!

Now...

-I can have him ready in half an hour. -Johanna, we are not leaving.

What?

It's my duty, I have to stay here. If the natives see us leaving, they'll riot.

-Now, take the children back to the house. -The house is not safe!

The volcano is 25 miles away! Now, please, I know what I'm doing!

Go home.

Mama!

NARRATOR: By now, the volcano was in fUll eruption.

Every second, almost a million cubic metres of ash, rock and pumice

were being forced oUt of the vent, crashing down the moUntain side.

This avalanche had an extraordinary effect on the sea.

It caused unpredictable swells and rapid tidal movements.

The volcano was aboUt to claim its first victims.

(SPEAKING MALAY DIALECT)

Mummy will be back in a minute.

Nina?

Addi?

(RUMBLING)

(SPEAKING IN MALAY DIALECT)

(EXPLOSION)

Karim.

What the...?

(SHOUTING IN MALAY DIALECT)

(WAVES ROARING)

Tuan, let's go. Tuan!

(PEOPLE SCREAMING)

(SPEAKING IN MALAY DIALECT)

Put me in prison.

Okay.

-Now, let me go. -What's the magic word?

Please.

Mina, Pieter, Pieter!

Go upstairs. Quickly, now!

(BABY CRYING)

Go upstairs and find somewhere safe.

Quickly, move!

(SPEAKING MALAY DIALECT)

Leave the door.

Quickly, go into the bedroom.

-What are we doing, Mama? -Hide, hide, I said. Get in the cupboard, now.

-Can I...? -In the cupboard, now!

(COUGHING)

Iyati?

(BABY CRYING)

Oh, no. Johanna?

Johanna! Johanna!

-Johanna! -Willem!

Johanna!

Pieter, Mina! Here!

Please, God.

Thank God.

-Mama, Papa. -Papa.

Come here. Oh, thank God.

Oh, thank God. Thank God.

Thank God.

VERBEEK: On the day of the erUption,

the geography of the area would determine who would live and die.

At the centre of the Sunda Straits,

Krakatoa was within 3,0 miles of land in all directions.

The first tsunami produced by the volcano had headed north,

where it destroyed Katimbang, killing thousands.

The steamship Loud on and the Fourth Point lighthoUse were untouched in the south.

As was I in Buitenzorg, 60 miles inland.

We were safe for the time being.

Sumatra Geological Survey 1850, volumes three and four.

Lyell's Principles of Geology. Werner's Classification.

Scrope on Extinct Volcanoes.

(SHOUTING) Coffee! We'll need some coffee.

It's gonna be a long night.

How could I have been so stupid?.

The answer's right in front of us, look.

Why didn't I see this at that time?. Look at the profiles.

Steep here and shallow down into the centre. You see? What does that tell you?

A single, common source of rock inside the...

Inside the caldera, exactly. The caldera, singular.

These aren't three different volcanoes, it's one.

One volcano, all fed by one reservoir of magma.

But that's immense.

And I told them they were safe.

Excuse me, tuan.

Who's this?

-A girl. -I can see that, Shuurman.

-We're busy, get rid of her. -What do you want?.

The mountain.

What about it?

It's done this before.

NARRATOR: In less than an hour, the column of ash was 3,0 miles high,

fanning out in all directions.

Soon it woUld engulf both land and sea.

(SHIP BELL TOLLING)

(VOLCANO RUMBLING)

(JOHANNA SPEAKING IN MALAY DIALECT)

How long will it take to get to the hill farm?.

On foot, five hours, maybe more.

Soon it will be impossible to breathe here, we must get to higher ground.

Come on, children.

(SPEAKING IN MALAY DIALECT)

Duchess. Duchess!

Is he going to die, Papa? Is he going to die?

He's still breathing.

-Come with me. You have to come with me. -I don't want him to die.

We have to leave. I'm sorry.

I don't want to go. I don't want to leave him.

Come on.

(GUNSHOT)

-No, you can't. -Come back.

You can't...

(SHUSHING)

It's useless. Compass won't work in this.

(SHIP BELL TOLLING)

MAN: They think it's evil spirits, sir, trying to sink the ship.

This ash keeps falling, they'll succeed.

What the hell are you doing?. Come on. Get up.

I want these decks kept clear. Rotating teams working bow to stern. You understand?

-Yes, tuan. -Over the side!

(COUGHING)

NARRATOR: Sailors that survived the eruption reported a strange glowing.

Gases and ash mixed creating violent electrical discharge.

The lightning is dangeroUs.

BUt ash is a far worse threat.

Just a foot of ash is heavy enoUgh to destabilise a ship.

At 5:00 p.m., the Beijerinck family headed towards the hills to the northeast.

Away from the spreading ash cloUd.

Johanna recorded the following accoUnt.

JOHANNA: The journey was one I would hope never to go throUgh again.

We were unable to take the road and were forced to walk.

First up a costal track and then through a wood with no path.

Pieter, I need to rest a bit.

Behind us was a continuous, terrible roaring,

as if the sea was still trying to catch Us.

Where are we going?

Pieter, I told you, to the hill farm.

I don't remember.

Pieter, I'm sorry.

-Come and rest. -I should go back and help with the evacuation.

We'll muster relief from Telok Betong.

There's a battalion of the 7th billeted there to deal with the insurgents.

-It'll take three days... -Look around you.

If Van Sandick's men stayed, they're already dead.

And you will die, too, if you return.

These people, they understand.

Go on, Pieter.

Jump.

That's a good boy.

Let's go.

There are many stories about the mountain.

About how the spirit of the mountain broke the land into pieces.

And sunk into the sea and how it was reborn out of the sea.

And some people say that it will come again.

-To destroy us. -I've got it. The Javanese Book of Kings.

PUstaka Raja PUrwa, it is our history.

It was ony published in Dutch a few years ago.

This chap, Ranggawarsita, collected all the folklore.

I picked it up in Batavia, but I thought it might be interesting.

Listen to this.

"The year 416,

"at last with a tremendous roar, the mountain burst into pieces

"and sank into the depths of the earth."

And the next verse?

"The water of the sea rose

"and flooded the land."

Pass me the map.

If I am right, and history is repeating itself,

then an eruption of this magnitude will generate a wave that...

It will engulf this entire coastline.

May God have mercy on their souls.

VERBEEK: I had thought that 3,0 miles of ocean would protect us from Krakatoa.

But what we had seen so far was just the beginning.

LINDEMANN: Get up there and clear that lot off. It's all gotta come down.

The ship can't survive this.

(PEOPLE CHATTERING)

Quiet, please!

Quiet!

Now, I need everyone to go below.

WOMAN: What? No.

MAN: Why on earth should we do that, Captain?

Because the ash is unbalancing the ship.

-It's making her top heavy. -So, what does this mean?

I'll tell you what it means.

It means that if I can't lower her centre of gravity, she'll capsize.

MAN 1 : We're going to be human ballast? MAN 2: Along with the coolies.

It's for the good of everyone on board!

I won't do it. I won't be packed in there with beasts...

I can distribute the weight in one of two ways, sir.

Below or overboard.

It's your choice.

Oh, for God's sake. You're not going to do this, are you?

(PEOPLE GRUMBLING)

LINDEMANN: Come on, down the hole!

(COUGHING)

Watch your step down there!

What are you doing here, miss?

What can I do to help?

You get below with all the others.

I don't want to hide. I want to do something.

What's your name, miss?.

Elisabeth.

Well, Elisabeth,

you can help me by being strong.

You understand?

Because if you are, they will be.

You saved my life.

Thank you.

Your famiy, your...

Your wife and children, where are they?

They went into the hills, tuan,

with the others.

You must miss them very much.

Earlier at the... At the house, earlier.

I thought I'd never see them again.

NARRATOR: 8:30 p.m.

The Loudon had now been at sea for more than 12 hours.

Around it the ash was sucking moistUre from the air.

(SHIP CREAKING)

JOHANNA: We reached our hill farm by the late afternoon.

And in my heart, I thanked God that we'd at last reached safety.

BUt God cannot have been listening

because the worst horror was yet to come.

You all know me and know you can trust me.

(WOMAN TRANSLATING IN MALAY DIALECT)

You're under my protection.

And by God, I shall do my duty by you.

You're my children.

There's no need to be frightened.

You're safe here.

My, erm...

My family are here with me,

and I shall stay with you as I shall stay with them.

May God be with us all.

NARRATOR: That morning, there was no dawn on Krakatoa.

ThroughoUt the night, the explosions increased.

A series of booms could be heard hundreds of miles away.

The volcano was entering a new phase.

JOSEF: Papa?

Mama wants to know when you're coming down.

I can't leave the light.

It should have been dawn two hours ago.

Go back downstairs. Look to your mother.

(BABY CRYING)

Why won't the baby stop crying?

'Cause Mama doesn't have enough milk.

(EXPLOSION)

(EXPLOSION)

(HIGH-PITCHED WHINE)

(MUFFLED) Mama. Mama, I can't hear.

(MUFFLED) Johanna.

(MUFFLED) Johanna, can you hear me?

(MUFFLED) Can you hear me?

(HIGH-PITCHED WHINE FADES)

(SOBBING)

(RUMBLING)

It's started.

Bring a carriage round!

This is madness. You'll be killed. What will that achieve?

Don't you understand?. This is all my fault.

What's your fault? How can this be your fault?

I should have known. I could have warned them!

I can still warn them.

The sea is coming!

NARRATOR: After 20 hoUrs of constant eruption,

the magma chamber of Krakatoa was empty.

With nothing to support it, the volcano began to collapse.

The resulting blast was so great, it was heard 3,000 miles away in Australia.

The loudest noise in recorded history.

Millions of tonnes of ash and pumice poured into the ocean

triggering a tsunami more destructive than anything that had come before.

(SEA ROARING)

CATHARINA: Jacob.

Jacob!

You must come down.

I can't.

I'm sorry.

-Sounding? -Aye, aye, sir!

Hold her steady, now.

Keep her headed for the volcano.

Yes, sir.

That's the direction it'll come from.

What?

Where what will come from?

The wave.

You've turned the ship about!

What are you doing?

I'm doing everything in my power, believe me.

We can't put in at Telok Betong.

The harbour's been destroyed.

(ALL GASPING)

MAN 1 : How is it possible? MAN 2: What exactly does that mean?

Quiet! Listen to him.

The closer to land,

the higher the waves. The sea swept it away.

-What? -Then where are we going?

I'm taking her out to sea.

We're all in the greatest danger. We have to face the truth.

If it's God's will...

WOMAN: What are you saying?

I'm saying I'd glady give my life to save any one of yours.

(ELISABETH SINGS MELANCHOLY SONG IN DUTCH)

-Sounding? -SAILOR: 15 fathoms.

-She's in 15 fathoms, sir. -Very good.

Now, I want a two-cable shackle outside the hawsepipe.

We're anchoring. Why?

Because, Mr Jansen,

if she isn't anchored, we'll be ripped inshore and smashed to pieces.

-SAILOR: 12 fathoms. -Oh, my God!

-It's fast! Drop the shackles, now! -Aye, sir!

Keep the screw turning. Ahead full speed.

Get below, sir.

13 fathoms.

Tie me to the wheel.

Now, you get below.

No, sir. I'm staying here.

Tie yourself down, Mr Jansen.

Sir.

(PEOPLE SCREAMING)

(WAVES CRASHING)

Jacob, we need coal.

When are you coming down?

(COUGHING)

(DOG WHIMPERING)

Can't carry on like this.

-He's gone. -What?

Theo. Theo's gone.

No! No, don't go out there!

Josef!

Josef!

Josef! Josef, boy, what are you doing? Go inside!

-But Theo! -Oh, give me the lantern, I'll find Theo.

Theo!

Theo!

Theo!

Theo!

Theo!

Theo!

Mama!

Mama!

Theo!

(DOG BARKING)

Mama!

Theo! Theo!

Theo!

(JACOB SCREAMING)

VERBEEK: The wave was more than 40 metres high.

It lifted the lighthoUse from its base.

It destroyed the entire coastline.

Towns.

Villages.

There was nothing they coUld do.

Thousands died.

What was unknown to me then,

was that the volcano had one last terrible secret to reveal.

NARRATOR: The collapsing volcano had unleashed a final avalanche of scalding ash and pumice.

Where it made contact with the water, it rode on a cushion of steam.

Ash, gas and pumice heated to more than 500 degrees centigrade

ripped across the ocean towards the highlands of southern Sumatra.

Your turn.

(EXCLAIMS)

Now, I play you again.

(SHOUTING IN MALAY DIALECT)

Get inside.

Get inside, now! Quick! Into the back.

Quickly, quickly. Into the back room.

-What is it, Mama? -I don't know.

Please, God, no.

The baby!

(CRASHING)

(GASPING)

(SOBBING)

Are you there?

JOHANNA: Without thinking, I walked forward.

Had I been in my right mind,

I think I would have understood what a dangeroUs thing it was to do.

To leave the vicinity of the farm house and plunge into the darkness.

I think hell is the only word for what I saw and went throUgh.

Come on.

Come on.

Where is it?

No.

No.

VERBEEK: "We couldn't even bury our child.

"My only thought was,

"Thank God he is at least put out of his agony."

VERBEEK: The Beijerincks left their devastated farm hut.

Of the 3,000 natives who fled to the highlands,

more than 1,000 died.

They suffered horrific burns from ash and pumice.

Elsewhere, it was the tsunami that killed.

Jacob?

The boy?

My husband's gone.

My boy is gone.

I can't find them.

I'm so sorry.

(SOBBING)

NARRATOR: Captain Lindemann was awarded the cross of gold by the Dutch authorities

for his bravery in saving the lives of those on board the Loudon.

His logbook provided an invaluable insight into the eruption of Krakatoa.

He captained the Loudon until his death just two years later.

The eruption destroyed 165 coastal villages

and had left more than 36,000 people dead.

There were reports of bodies and pumice

being washed up on the coast of Africa a year later.

The Dutch authorities ordered 250,000 gallons of gasoline

to be used in the burning of the bodies.

Mama?

Willem Beijerinck continued working for the Dutch government for the next 13 years,

before he retired to Holland.

Johanna Beijerinck's account of the eruption was reported around the world.

She stayed with her husband Willem and soon became pregnant again.

She named her yoUngest child

after the one she lost on the hillsides of Sumatra.

Thank you.

You have to go, Tokaya.

You have to find your family.

Yes, Nyonya.

NARRATOR: It's not known what's with Tokaya or his family happened.

There is no report of that.

Rogier Verbeek's books about Krakatau

became the foundation of the modern volcanology.

He provided scientists with a detailed eyewitness account,

of the entire cycle of a volcano eruption before it first in the entire history of humanity.

The eruption had far-reaching consequences.

Twenty million tons of sulfur became the atmosphere launched

this caused exceptional sunsets all over the world

and damped the temperature all over the earth far into the twentieth century.

Almost nothing remained of Krakatau itself.

Twelve square kilometers of solid stone disappeared within 48 hours.

The volcano had blown itself to pieces.

In 1927,

the volcano burst from 300 meters below Sunda Street, out again.

As Verbeek predicted in his writings a new volcano formed,

Growing 5 meters a year ...

The Indonesians call this volcano Anak Krakatoa.

Son of Krakatau.

Millions of people today live in the sight of Anak Krakatau.

and the island continues to grow.