Mont+Pelee,+Martinique,+1902+(304)

Saint-Pierre use to be a fairly large and prosperous city of the French Caribbean. Mont Pelee's eruption claimed **30,000 lives,** leaving behind **o**nly two, who one mostly owes his life to the fact that his house was located near the edge of the path of the cloud and another who was serving time in a St.Pierre dungeon, making it to the top 10 list of the world’s deadliest volcanic eruptions, as the third in place.
 * __ Background Information __**

JUST after eruption __**
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 * __ After eruption __**

//__Nature of eruption/Materials produced in eruption __// · Although in January 1902 Mt. Pelée began to show an abrupt increase in **  [|fumarole activity]  **, the public showed little concern. This changed, however, on April 23 when **minor explosions** began at the summit of the volcano. · Over the next few days, St. Pierre was rocked by **earth tremors, showered in ash**, and enveloped in a thick cloud of **choking sulfurous gas.** · At about 7:50 a.m. on May 8, the volcano erupted with a deafening roar. A large black cloud composed of **superheated gas, ash and rock** rolled headlong down the south flank of Mt. Pelée at more than 100 miles per hour, its path directed by the V-shaped notch at the summit. · In less than one minute it struck St. Pierre with **hurricane force.** The blast was powerful enough to carry a three-ton statue sixteen meters from its mount. · The searing heat of the cloud **ignited huge bonfires**. Thousands of barrels of rum stored in the city's warehouses exploded, sending rivers of the flaming liquid through the streets and into the sea. · The dynamic cloud of hot gases and incandescent solid particles that destroyed St. Pierre was a **// [|pyroclastic flow] //**, a feature that was unknown to science at the time. Subsequent examples observed on Mt. Pelée were described by French volcanologists as // [|nuée ardentes] //, or glowing clouds. //__Human response (before and after) __//  Pre-Eruption Preparedness and Reaction – Government & media issued reports downplaying the hazards – Populace thought there was little risk • Eruption were similar to those in 1851 which had not affected St. Pierre – Most people are reassured and do not evacuate despite fear • Poorer residents do not have the money to get a boat away from St. Pierre – The city’s population swelled by refugees <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">AFTER: EVERYBODY DIED EXCEPT TWO PEOPLE! <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> //__<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">TERMS TO DEFINE: __// Fumarole -- The yellow color around this fumarole comes from sulfur crystals derived from the cooling of sulfur vapor escaping from the fumarole opening. A **//pyroclastic flow//** is a fluidized mixture of solid to semi-solid fragments and hot, expanding gases that flows down the flank of a volcanic edifice. These awesome features are heavier-than-air emulsions that move much like a snow avalanche, except that they are fiercely hot, contain toxic gases, and move at phenomenal, hurricane-force speeds, often over 100 km/hour. They are the most deadly of all volcanic phenomena.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">from surrounding areas prior to May 8.

Mount Pelee eruption

//**__ Additional Fun Facts __**// Since the eruption in 1902 of famous Mount Pelee, one of the top things to do for visitors is Martinique scuba diving. With all the destruction came a dozen or so new dive sites found off the coastline along the western shores. Offshore there are many breathtaking rock formations and nearby reefs to explore while underwater.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> __//**Nature of eruption/Materials produced in eruption**//__ Mt. Pelée erupted on May 8, 1902 at 7:50 am, violently. It destroyed the small city of St. Pierre on the Island of Martinique, killing over 25,000 people. It has been dubbed as the [|worst volcanic disaster] of the 20th century.

“A massive black cloud consisting of ash, rock and hot gas rushed down the south slope at the speed of 100 mph. It only took one minute for the cloud to blast through St. Pierre.”

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">That year, Mt. Pelée <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> started to show a sudden increase in [|//fumarole activity//]//:// sulfur accumulations.

__**//No. of casualties/Main cause of casualty//**__ The eruption killed about 30,121 people, most deaths in the destroyed Saint-Pierre, at that time the largest city in Martinique, due to its deadly pyroclastic flows. Pyroclastic flows completely destroyed St. Pierre, Martinique, a town of 30,000 people, following the eruption of Mont Pelee in 1902


 * __//Human's reactions (before and after)//__**

Before the eruption, people were worried because of the recent occurrence of fumarole activity but the authorities said that that was no cause for them to evacuate the town. So they stayed. After the eruption, almost the whole town was killed and people living around that area started to leave their homes in fear of their safety. Everyone was scared!

Pyroclastic flows: They are fluidized masses of rock fragments and gases that move rapidly in response to gravity
 * //__Terms that might need explanation__//**

PURPLE WORDS= EDITED BY SIJIA AND YUXIAN! :D