The End of the World: For St. Pierre on the French Caribbean island of Martinique on this date (May 7, 1902) when Montagne Pelée (“Bald Mountain”) suddenly exploded -- sending a hurtling wave of searing ash and fiery gasses down the volcano that engulfed, within just seconds and minutes, the entire harbor town. Of the approximate 30,000 inhabitants of the city, only three persons directly in the path of destruction are known to have survived. A number of sailors in the harbor, some of which were blown into the water, survived, as did others on the fringes of the 8 square miles of the island that were totally destroyed. Today, St. Pierre has been partially rebuilt, but with a smaller population that numbers less than 5,000. The great churning beast beneath the mountain first began to awaken in late April 1902 when a sporadic but escalating series of ominous signs first appeared. Over a period of days, new steam vents opened, increasingly tremors were felt, smoke began to emerge from the mountain’s top -- and ash and light cinders began to fall in some places on the island, including St. Pierre. Some feared a possible eruption and the advance of lava, fire and heavy ash that might result, and decided to flee the island – but few, it seemed, envisioned the possibility of a “pyroclastic flow” or were able to comprehend the incredibly rapid and destructive power of such a raging (and largely unknown phenomenon) and remained behind, believing they would have time to leave if the situation worsened. Ultimately, the end for St. Pierre, located about 4 miles from the summit of Pelée, came with a massive, unexpected explosion that vaporized a portion of the mountain (similar in nature to the Mr. St. Helens explosion of 1980) that commenced what has become known as the greatest volcanic disaster of the 20th Century. Tragically, a second large explosion occurred on May 20 that reportedly took the lives of 2,000 additional persons, many of them part of the contingent, including military personnel, of those who came to rescue and provide relief to the surviving local islanders. An additional series of pyroclastic flows of smaller dimension, occurring as late as August of the same year, damaged various other settlements on the island with a reported additional loss of life of over 1,000. Since the 1902 eruption the volcano has remained relatively quiet. I commend to you a very colorful and interesting book about the event that I read some years ago: “The Day the World Ended” (1969) by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts. It is a thoroughly fascinating and colorful recount of the 1902 Pelée eruption and aftermath and I am certain you will find it enjoyable. Pictured below: Various photos of St. Pierre and Pelée.
Posted on: Wed, 07 May 2014 11:03:24 +0000
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