The island draws attention by scientists and researchers from both within and outside the country, as the island is related with the phenomenal eruption of Mount Tambora which shook the world on 15 April 1815. The eruption of Mount Tambora rocked several parts of the world, spewing dust and polluting the Earth's atmosphere for many years, even tearing the thin ozone layer. Although estimates vary, the death toll was at least 71,000 people, of which 11,000-12,000 were killed directly by the eruption. Its effects also resulted in climate change which led to eight weeks of nonstop rain in the UK, and has been cited as a reason for the severity of the 1816-19 typhus epidemic in southeast Europe and the eastern Mediterranean that killed about 65,000 people.