Killer strikes the island of Martinique and killed approximately 26,000 to 36,000 people living Saint-Pierre in 1902. This eruption was one of the most devastating event in France

1
Abstract In 1902, Mt. Pelée erupted and killed
26,000 to 36,000 people in Saint-Pierre on the
island of Martinique. Mt. Pelee is located along
a subduction zone between the Caribbean and South
American Plates. Since colonization of the
island, four eruptions have occurred one in
1792, another in 1851, the catastrophic eruption
of 1902, and a reawakening in 1929. This
stratovolocano is capable of erupting deadly
gases, tephra fall, lava flows, mudflows,
pyroclastic flows and surges, landslides, and
creating tsunamis. In 1902, Mt. Pelée produced
deadly pyroclastic flows and surges that rolled
through the town of Saint-Pierre covering the
nearly 30,000 residences and killing most of
them. There were a few lucky survivors, like
Ludger Sylbaris, who was being held in the towns
underground jail. In 1929, Mt. Pelée again
produced a pyroclastic flow. The eruptions in
1902 and 1929 dramatically illustrated two
previously undocumented hazards for
volcanologists to address, pyroclastic flows and
surges.

• A reawakening in 1929
• On August 16th a sudden outburst threw a vapor
  column, and light ash falls. Some landslides were
  reported thereafter on the summit. September
  16th a violent eruption caused spontaneous
  evacuations of all the villages around the
  volcanoes. The population was allowed to return
  to their homes at the beginning of October, after
  an assessment made by a visiting
  geologist.October 14th a new eruption, far more
  violent than the previous ones, threw dense ash
  falls on Prêcheur.October 18th the whole
  western side was covered with ashes.October
  22nd eruption delivered a pyroclastic flow which
  took
• 10 minutes to reach the sea along
• the Blanche river valley. (Pelée. com)

• Eruptive History
• Since the colonizing the island four eruptions
  have occurred
• 1792- a minor events, a violent earthquake
  vents on open near the crater and scorched trees
  and killed many birds and there was a strong
  sulfur smell in the area.
• 1851- Ash eruption with small mudflow, some
  tremors, but NO lava and the area smelled of
  hydrogen sulfide.
• The big catastrophic eruption of 1902- kill
• A reawakening in 1929

Introduction Killer strikes the island of
Martinique and killed approximately 26,000 to
36,000 people living Saint-Pierre in 1902. This
eruption was one of the most devastating event in
Frances history. It left the island of
Martinique in rowan, it economy devastated, died
crops buried in ash and reduced St. Pierre to
rubble and looters ravaged city. This eruption
would forced the world to act in the event of an
eruption and to move people to safely and out of
the way of pyroclastic flows, surges, and
mudflows. (Boer and Sanders)

• The Big Catastrophic Eruption of 1902

Timeline Year of 1902

• Per eruptions events
• An ash eruption
• Main eruption events
• Ash begins erupting
• All the streams began drying up
• Mudflow ( destroys a sugar mill) Kills 25
• Rivers around the volcano began to flood
  communications are knocked out volcano is
  glowing as hot magma had broken though to the
  surface. Lava began poring the creator from a new
  lava dome
• Houses began collapsing and trees fall of weight
  ash
• A volcano commission goes to the create, looks
  AROUND and said
• Pyroclastic flow and surge emanating form a
  lateral blast rolled down the mountain at an
  estimated speed of 160 kilometers per hour or
  more with temperature at lest 900 degrees Celsius
  destroy St. Pierre. Grand-Rivière, Macouba and
  Basse-Pointe are destroyed by mudflows
• Another pyroclastic flow finished what was left
• Post eruption
• Avalanche destroy the villages of Morne-Rouge,
  and Ajoupa-Bouillon, and claims about 1,000
  lives.
• (Francis, Oppenheimer, Pelée. com, Boer and
  Sanders, USGS)

April May 2th 3th 5th 6th 7th 8th 20th Au
g

• Definitions
• Pyroclastic flows are high-density mixtures of
  hot, dry rock fragments and hot gases that move
  away from their source vents at high speeds. They
  may result from the explosive eruption of molten
  or solid rock fragments, or both, or from the
  collapse of vertical eruption columns of ash and
  larger rock fragments. (USGS)
• Pyroclastic surges are turbulent, low-density
  clouds of rock debris and air or other gases that
  move over the ground surface at high speeds. They
  typically hug the ground and depending on their
  density and speed, may or may not be controlled
  by the underlying topography. Pyroclastic surges
  are of two types "hot" pyroclastic surges that
  consist of "dry" clouds of rock debris and gases
  that have temperatures appreciably above 100
  degrees C, and "cold" pyroclastic surges, that
  consist of rock debris and steam or water at or
  below a temperature of 100 degrees C. (USGS)

MT. PELÉE
 St Pierre ruined (Ph. Lacroix) (Pelée. com)
 St. Pierre before the eruption (Ph. Lacroix)
(Pelée. com)
All the phenomena which have occurred so far are
normal, and are commonly observed on all
volcanoes around the world. Since the craters of
the volcano are wide open, the expansion of the
vapors will continue with no earthquake or rock
projection. According to the location of the
craters and the position of the valleys leading
to the sea, the City of St. Pierre is perfectly
safe. (Pelée. com)
Location Mt. Pelée is location on the French
colonized island of Martinique along the
Caribbean Subduction zone. The Atlantic Plate
subducted under the Caribbean Plate about 2
centimeters a year at about 50 to 60 degree
angle. Mt. Pelée is a stratovolocano capable of
eruption deadly gases, tephra fall, lava flows,
mudflows, pyroclastic flows and surges,
landslides, and tsunami. (Boer and Sanders) (see
picture below)
Saint- Pierre after the catastrophe (Ph. A
Heilprin) (Pelée. com)

• Conclusions
• (1) First recognized example of what French
  geologists call nuée ardente (glowing cloud)
  today know as a pyroclastic flow.
• (2) Put the study of volcanoes form a minor
  branch of geology in to an important field
  science of it own.
• After the May 8th eruption on the island of
  Martinique, people were evacuated were a new
  eruption was to begin.
• (Boer and Sanders)

Survivor Louis Cyparis (all so knew as Ludger
Sylbaris )
"Cyparis said that the cell he occupied in the
St. Pierre prison was an underground dungeon,
which had no other window than a grated aperture
in the upper part of the door. On the morning of
May 8th, while he was waiting for breakfast, it
suddenly grew very dark and almost immediately
afterward hot air, mixed with fine ashes, came in
through the door-grating and burned him. He
rushed and jumped in agony about the cell and
cried for help but there was no answer. He
heard no noise, saw no fire, and smelled nothing
except "what he thought was his own body,
burning." The intense heat lasted only a moment,
and during that time he breathed as little as
possible. There was no smoke in the cell and the
hot air came in through the door-grating without
any noticeable rush or blast. He had on, at the
time, hat, shirt, and trousers, but no shoes. His
clothing did not take fire, and yet his back was
very severely burned under his shirt. (Pelée.
com)
References Cited mount-pelee.com
http//www.mount-pelee.com/1902-a-major-disaster-
6.html Volcanoes Francis, Peter, Oppenheimer,
Clive ED. 2 Oxford University Press Oxford, New
York 2004. pps. 72-81 Volcanoes in Human
History The Far-Reaching Effects of Major
Eruptions. Jelle Zeilinga de Boer and Donald
Theodore Sanders Princeton University Press
Princeton, New Jersey 2002. pps. 187-207 USGS
Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver
,Washington http//vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/