Beth El Blood Drive, Summer Story Telling and KRAKATOA

1. The American Red Cross is holding a Belmont Community blood drive from noon to 5 p.m. at the Beth El Temple Center, 2 Concord Ave. Those donating today will receive a coupon for a free 24 pack of Nice! Spring Water and a coupon for up to 20 percent off coupon to Walgreens. 

2. Summer Storytelling at the Benton Library, Belmont's independent and volunteer-run library at the corner of Oakley and Old Middlesex, will begin at 10:30 a.m. Stories are for children ages three to five. Parents and caregivers must attend.  Registration is not required. 

3. Sewer and drain repairs will continue on Harding Avenue, Dalton Road, Park Road and Hamilton Road this week. So expect detours.

4. Belmont Rotary Club members participate in both local service projects, provide college scholarships for Belmont high school students, and are involved in international and global projects. New members are always welcome but must be sponsored by a current member. Meetings are open to the public and are held weekly from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library.

5. On this day in 1883, the volcanic island of Krakatoa – situated between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia – exploded in an eruption so violent (about 10,000 times greater than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima) it produced the loudest sound ever produced (it was heard nearly 2,000 miles away in Perth, Australia and anyone within 10 miles was rendered deaf) creating a pressure wave that was recorded on barographs around the world, reverberating around the globe seven times. The resulting tsunami killed more than 120,000 in asia while the volcanic ash and the actual landmass of the island was propelled 50 miles into the sky. According to a report in the Boston-based Atlantic Monthly magazine published in 1884, some sea captains had reported seeing sunrises that were green while sunsets around the world turned a vivid red in the months following the Krakatoa eruption. The vividness of the sunsets continued for nearly three years while the average global temperatures fell by as much as 1.2 degrees Celsius in the year following the eruption. Weather patterns continued to be chaotic for years and temperatures did not return to normal until 1888.