On Aug. 27, 1883, the island volcano Krakatoa erupted with a series of cataclysmic explosions; the resulting tidal waves in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait claimed some 36,000 lives in Java and Sumatra.

Ten years ago

A Comair CRJ-100 crashed after trying to take off from the wrong runway in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49 people and leaving the co-pilot the sole survivor. Two Fox News journalists, Steve Centanni and cameraman Olaf Wiig, were freed by militants nearly two weeks after being kidnapped in Gaza City. The action series “24” won Emmys for best drama series and best actor for Kiefer Sutherland; “The Office” was honored as best comedy.

Five years ago

Hurricane Irene, after striking Puerto Rico and the Bahamas, pushed up the U.S east coast, prompting evacuations in New York City and leaving major flood damage in Vermont. Hundreds of soldiers and federal agents raided a casino in Monterrey in northern Mexico, two days after an arson attack on a gambling house killed 52 people.

One year ago

Visiting residents on tidy porch stoops and sampling the fried chicken at a corner restaurant, President Barack Obama held out the people of New Orleans as an extraordinary example of renewal and resilience 10 years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

— By The Associated Press