Illustration depicting the eruption of Mont Pelee,Martinique,on 8 May 1902. At 7.50am local time,an enormous black cloud was emitted by the volcano and rolled down its slopes toward the capital,St.Pierre. This was a nuee ardente,a cloud of hot gas,ash and rocks that moves like a fluid at incredible speeds. Despite an earlier fatal eruption,which destroyed a factory about a mile from the town three days before,St.Pierre was not evacuated before being engulfed. Over 28,000 people died in the eruption,the sole survivor being a prisoner in his cell. Three explosive eruptions have since been recorded,the last in 1932 |