Eruption of the mountain Peeled in 1902

The eruption of the Peeled Montagne in 1902 entirely destroyed Saint-Pierre in Martinique making nearly 26000 dead.

First steps

Although regarded as dormant, the Pelée mountain entered in eruption the April 25th 1902. At the beginning of April, the excursionists report the unusual aspect of the emitted sulfurous vapors of the Fumerolle S close to the top. They are not considered, because the fumerolles had often appeared then disappeared in the past.

The April 23rd, the volcano emits a light rain of ashes on its southern parts and west and of the underground grondements.

The April 25th, it emits large clouds of rocks and ashes at its top, where the Dry Pond - a drained basin - is localized. The ejected materials produce only tiny damage.

The April 26th, the zone is covered by a layer with ashes indicating the proximity with a future eruption; the public authorities do not worry any in addition to measurement.

The April 27th, of many curious at the top about the volcano find the Pond Dry filled with water, forming a Lac of 180 m width. There is a volcanic debris cone 15 height m on one on the sides of the lake, feeding the lake of a regular ebullient water jet. Sounds resembling those released by an ebullient water cauldron come from the basement. A strong odor of Soufre invades the streets of the city and inconvenience men and horses to 10 km with the round.

The April 30th, the Roxelane rivers and of the Fathers inflate, cart rocks and trees torn off at the top. The villages of the Preacher and Holy-Philomène receive regular jets of ashes.

The May 2nd with 11:30, the mountain produces strong detonations, earthquakes, and a lampblack plume rises. Ashes recover all the northern part of Martinique. The detonations reproduce in intervals from 5 to 6 a.m. The local newspaper the Colonies proposes indefinitely to push back the picnic, envisaged in the beginning the 4. The pets start to suffer from the Faim and the Soif, ash recovering grass and soiling water.

Saturdays May 3rd, the wind blows in north, reducing fear with Saint-Pierre.

Sunday May 4th, the falls of ashes return and intensify, the communications between Saint-Pierre and the Preacher are cut. The cloud of ashes is so dense that the coastal boats do not dare any more to approach the port. The inhabitants start to panic and flee the island by the bateux ones with vapor of the regular lines. The area is covered with a white layer of ashes " like farine".

Monday May 5th, the mountain appears to be calmed in the morning; however, with 13:00, the sea moves back of 100 meters then returns in the form of a Raz-de-marée, flooding the low districts of the city, and a broad cloud of smoke appears in the west of the mountain. A wall of the crater of the Dry Pond collapses and propels a mud and ebullient water mass, or Lahar, in the Blanche river, carrying the Usine Raffinage of Canne to sugar Guerin and carrying 150 victims, of which the owner and his wife, under 60 to 90 meters of mud. There Réfugié S of the surrounding villages flee in Saint-Pierre, believing to be more in safety. This night, the weather conditions damage the urban Electrical communication: the city is plunged in the absolute black.

Tuesday May 6th, to 2:00 of the morning, the deaf noises arrive of the depths of the mountain.

Wednesday May 7th per same hour, the clouds of ashes cause flash S and the two craters of the volcano rougeoient in the night. The next day, the inhabitants continue to leave the island. In same time, the rural ones of the area come to seek refuge there. The newspapers continue to say that the city does not fear anything. The news of the Soufrière of the island close to Saint-Vincent reassures the population by claiming that “the pressure of the basement was reduced” and thus attenuated risks. Everyone was not reassured, far from there. For example, the captain Marina Leboffe, Orsolina ship, refuses to embark half of his cargo of Sucre, in spite of the protests of the shippers, the refusal of the harbor authorities and the threats of arrest. The Moutett governor and his wife remain on the island. The evening, the volcano seems to be alleviated.

The principal eruption

The morning of Thursday May 8th, day of the Rise, the inhabitants observe incandescences at the top of the volcano. The operator of the Télégraphe of night transmits the report/ratio on the activity of the volcano to an operator of Fort-de-France, without declaring new developments; its last word east “Go”, returning the line with the operator of distance. He is 7:52; the line is cut the second following one. A boat of repair of cable sees the destruction of the city directly; a dense black cloud was distributed horizontally above the volcano. A second black cloud forms a monstrous plume in form of Champignon visible to 100 km with the round. The initial speed of the two clouds was calculated later to 670 km/h.

A volcanic Cloud descends the slopes of the volcano at a speed considerable, black and door of aspect, but red and extreme inside. It reaches the city in one minute, igniting with its very combustible contact and covering the whole city.

Precipitations occur then, involving mud torrents which complete the destruction of the city. During many hours, any communication is cut as well by ground as by sea. Nobody knows what did, nor which has authority on the island, the governor being him also in the city. Some survivors are drawn from the sea; generally marine S, all terribly flarings, which were carried by the breath in the sea and clung to some floating remains.

A first Navire of war arrives at 12:30, but heat prevents it from approaching before 15:00 the city burns during several days.

The volcanic cloud devastated a Superficie of 16 km ² and the remainder of the city is the prey of the flames.

The cloud is composed of Poussière S, vapor S and volcanic gases overheated with temperatures of about 1000 °C.

Saint-Pierre, then Prefecture of the Martinique, was populated approximately 26.000 hab., to which the refugees of the minor explosions and the torrents had been added preceding the volcanic clouds. There were very few survivors: Louis-Auguste Cyparis, a Captive saved by the thickness of the walls of its dungeon, and Leon Accomplice-Léandre, a Shoe-maker which lived with the periphery of the city. Other sources quote Havivra Da Ifrile, a little girl. A servant survived the volcanic cloud but perishes of his burns; the only thing of which she remembered was the abrupt rise of heat. She died very little of time after it had been discovered. As victims the passengers and the crews of boats accosted in the port are also regarded.

The Belem, arrived of the Havre, had its safety with the fact that another ship had accosted on its usual site. Remained with broad in spite of the protests of its captain, Julien-Marie Chauvelon, Belem undergoes a slag rain, stones and ashes and some damage on gréement and the mast, but could take again the sea later a few weeks.

Continuations

The Pelée mountain continued its eruption until the July 4th 1905.

The May 20th, an eruption similar to the first by the type and the force took place. At the time of one drawing explosion the August 30th 1902, a volcanic cloud ran out more in the east than those of the 8 and of May 20th. Although less powerful than the two first, it killed at least 800 people with the Dull-Red, 250 with Ajoupa-Bubble, 25 with Basse Point and 10 with Morne Cap. It is the last eruption mortal until our days.

The effects on the social life, policy and economic of Martinique were considerable. It is Fort-de-France which was going to replace Saint-Pierre like principal city of Martinique. Many children found themselves orphan, from where the creation of the orphanage of the Hope at Fort-de-France. Lastly, part of the population disaster victim was rehoused in other communes of Martinique, on the North-Atlantic coast and in the south of the island. Others left towards the Guadeloupe, Sainte Lucie, the Guyana, the Panama and the Venezuela.

The study of the causes of this disaster marks the beginning of the modern Volcanologie with the definition and the analysis of the volcanic risk mortal: pyroclastic flows or volcanic clouds. The eruption also gave its name to the type of eruption " Pelean ". Among those which studied the Pelée mountain, there is Angelo Heilprin and Antoine Lacroix. The Illustrateur Lacroix is the first to have described a volcanic cloud precisely.

The destruction caused by the eruption of 1902 is quickly published thanks to the recent means of communication. They drew the attention of the public and the governments to the risks and the dangers of a active volcanicity.

Survivors

Leon Accomplice-Léandre

Leon Accomplice-Léandre (1874-1936) was a Cordonnier with Saint-Pierre in Martinique when the Peeled Montagne entered in eruption the May 8th 1902.

Its description of the morning of May 8th, 1902.

One knows little thing about Leon Accomplice-Léandre, since it withdrew from the sight of the public after the disaster. Some say that he survived thanks to a building the thick walls, but of others say that he had fled and escaped the pyroclastic Coulée (the last version seems not very probable). Some say that Leon Accomplice-Léandre was Européen, of other which it was Métis. |date=

Louis-Auguste Cyparis

Louis-Auguste Cyparis , or Ludger Sylbaris , was a prisoner of the prison of Saint-Pierre. It is surviving eruption of the May 8th 1902 of the Peeled Montagne in Martinique.

At the time of the eruption, Cyparis, a 27 year old workman, was locked up only in a cell of the prison to have taken part in a brawl in a bar. Its cell did not have a window, ventilated by a simple opening on the hidden side with the volcano.

4 days later, a rescue squad heard her complaints and delivered it. Although awfully burned, he survived and could describe the event. According to him, the eruption took place per hour of the breakfast there this day, it made very dark then. Hot air mixed with fine ashes. One moment of intense heat lasted very little of time, but to deeply burn enough its hands, its arms, its legs, and its back, but its clothing did not take fire and it did not breathe the extreme air.

Risking the capital punishment for murder, he was forgiven and joined the circus " Barnum & Bailey' s" , the America crossed and telling the horrors of the eruption, and becomes famous like, " the man who lived the day of the last Jugement " or " the most marvellous man with the monde". As an element of the " larger spectacle in the world " of " Barnum and Bailey's", it was the famous first Noir in the Show-biz during the segregation.

The two other survivors would have been Leon Accomplice-Léandre, shoe-maker, and Havivra Da Ifrile, a small girl|date=

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