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Mount Pelée (") is an active Volcano on the northern tip of the French Overseas ''département'' of Martinique in the Caribbean . It is a Stratovolcano , its Volcanic Cone composed of layers of Volcanic Ash and hardened Lava . Mount Pelée is infamous for its 1902 eruption and the destruction that resulted, the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century. The eruption caused about 26,000 casualties and destroyed Saint-Pierre . 1902 ERUPTION Though it was previously dormant, Mount Pelée began to erupt on April 25 , 1902 . In early April, excursionists noted the appearance of sulphurous vapors emitting Fumarole s near the mountaintop. This was not regarded as important, as fumaroles had been appearing and disappearing in the past.
The main eruption The main eruption, on May 8 , 1902 , on the Ascension Day , destroyed the town of Saint-Pierre , about 4 miles south of the peak. In the morning, people were observing the fireworks the mountain was showing off. The night shift telegraph operator was sending the reports of the volcano's activity, to the operator at Fort-de-France, claiming no significant new developments; his last transmission was "Allez", handing over the line to the remote operator. It was 7:52; the next second the telegraph line went dead. A cable repair ship had the city in direct view; the upper mountainside ripped open and a dense black cloud shot out horizontally. A second black cloud rolled upwards, forming a gigantic mushroom cloud and darkening the sky in 50 miles radius. The initial speed of both clouds was later calculated to over 670 kilometers per hour. The horizontal Pyroclastic Cloud was hugging the ground, speeding down towards the city of Saint Pierre, appearing black and heavy, glowing hot from the inside. In under a minute it reached the city, instantly igniting everything combustible it came in contact with, covering the entire city. A rush of wind followed, this time towards the mountain. Then came a half-hour downpour of muddy rain mixed with ashes. For the next several hours, all communication with the city was severed. Nobody knew what was happening, nor who had authority over the island, as the governor was unreachable and his status unknown. Some survivors were picked from the sea; mostly badly burned sailors, who had been blown into the sea by the blast and then clung for hours to floating debris. A warship arrived towards the shore at about 12:30, but the heat prevented landing until about 3 PM. The city burned for several more days. The area devastated by the pyroclastic cloud covered about 8 square miles, with the city of St. Pierre taking its brunt. The cloud consisted of superheated steam and volcanic gases and dust, with temperatures reaching over 1000 °C. Saint Pierre, which then served as the island's capital, had a population of some ~28,000, which was swelled by refugees from the minor explosions and mud flows first emitted by the volcano. There were only two survivors: Ludger Sylbaris , a prisoner held in an underground cell in the town's Jail (later pardoned), and Léon Compere-Léandre , a man who lived at the edge of the city. Some sources also list Havivra Da Ifrile , a little girl. One woman, a housemaid, also survived; the only thing she remembered from the event was sudden heat. She died very shortly after being discovered. Included among the victims were the passengers and crews of several ships docked at Saint Pierre. One passenger steamship, the ''Roraima'', which went missing on ''. It later sank; its wreck is still present offshore Saint Pierre; 28 of her crew and all the passengers except two were killed by the cloud. Mount Pelée continued to wreak devastation well into 1903 .
The study of the causes of the disaster marks the beginning of modern style". The destruction caused by the 1902 eruption was quickly publicized by recent modern means of communication. It brought to the attention of the public and governments the hazards and dangers of an active volcano. In the most dangerous eruption 2 or 3 people survived out of ~28,000 people. Mount Pelée is now under continuous watch by Geophysicists and Volcanologists ( IPGP ). EXTERNAL LINKS
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