I guess if you lived in the vicinity (western coast of Java), the explosion of Krakatoa must've looked like the closest thing to the end of the world that any human ever experienced.
>sudden explosion, maybe the loudest sound ever heard by a human at the time
>the sky is turning pitch black during the day
>gigantic burning boulders and ash rain down
>the air becomes hot like an oven
>if you survived that somehow
>a few minutes later a 30 meter high tsunami wave crashes over you