Mysterious rain of stones killed thousands of people in Indonesia

Do you know a mysterious rain full of pumice stones on Sumbawa Island of Indonesia in the 18th century killed thousands of people? The answer to why it happened lies in the volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora on Sumbawa Island.

Few natural disasters can compare to the devastating eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815. It blasted tons of pumice stones on Sumbawa. This terrible event is known as the “rain of stones.” Pumice stones are stones made up of volcanic rock.

The eruption of Mount Tambora is one of the most explosive in recorded history. The volcano erupted on April 10, 1815, so violently. Hence, it generated large amounts of volcanic ash, gasses, and rock fragments into the atmosphere.

One of the most horrific incidents released by the eruption was a rain of stones. It bombarded heavily the Island of Sumbawa. As a result, large volcanic pebbles (stones) of several kilos of weight fell from the sky with deadly force creating havoc on the island.

Eruption blasted stones into the sky as the volcano violently expelled ash, gases, and rock fragments. The eruption reached high heights, injecting volcanic debris into the atmosphere. So, the weight of volcanic rocks overpowered the upward force of the eruption. It caused them to fall back to the earth’s surface in the form of stony rain.

The deadliest stony rains wiped out villages and destroyed crops in a moment. It resulted in the deaths of thousands of people. The people of Sumbawa already suffered from destruction caused by a volcanic eruption, faced another hazardous event in the form of stony rain.

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Mount Tambora Volcanic eruption caused hunger and spread typhus disease. The combination of volcanic eruption and stony rain killed more than 50,000 people. It also forced 3500 people to leave Sumbawa Island.

Eyewitness people told how stones fell like hail, destroying roofs and crushing everything in their path. The thunderous noise of eruption and stones falling’s sound from the sky also created immense fear and despair among people.

The deadliest eruption converted once-green Sumbawa Island into a dark wasteland. Hence, Geologists consider the Mount Tambora eruption and the mysterious rain of stones one of the “two most dramatic episodes” in geological history.