Before 1902, the city of Saint Pierre on the island of Martinique was known as the "Paris of the Antilles". With more than 28,000 residents, Saint Pierre was the cultural and economic capital of Martinique. More than 350 years old, Saint Pierre was a lively place with a rich Creole heritage, schools, theatres, botanical gardens to mark its cultural importance. Of course, it also had its share of brothels, gambling dens, and rum distilleries (it was that kind of place). Martinique's intellectual and economic elite lived there and the vibrant social scene drew tourists from around the world. While the overseas empire that France still had at the time was slowly dwindling, Saint Pierre was one of its economic jewels.
When the nearby volcano of Mount Pelee became increasingly active in early 1902, with disturbing signs that a major eruption was imminent, many residents of the neighbouring towns took refuge in the supposedly safe city which swelled the population of Saint Pierre to more than 30,000. It would be a fatal mistake for the refugees. Despite reassurances from the French governor (based in the capital at nearby Fort-de-France) that the volcano would soon quiet down again, the clouds of ash and sulphur from the volcano grew steadily worse. Since local elections were scheduled for May 9 of that year, the government tried to maintain public order. A mass evacuation of Saint Pierre would have been an administrative nightmare and neither of the leading political parties wanted to have the election disrupted.
By May 3, swarms of deadly fer de lance snakes flooded the streets of St. Pierre biting anything that came into their paths (likely caused by the worsening conditions of the nearby mountain). That, along with the disturbing eruptions from Mount Pelee and other volcanoes that were part of the chain of volcanoes making up the Lesser Antilles arc, proved warning enough for many shippers who left port despite their cargo holds being only half full. The ones living in Saint Pierre, both the long-term residents and the refugees who had fled there for safety, had no idea what would happen next. By May 7, volcanic explosions had disrupted the local power grid and clouds of ash had blanketed much of the area. Pyroclastic flows had already killed hundreds in more isolated parts of the country and those who couldn't leave on the steamship lines took shelter where they could.
On May 8, 1902, in what would be declared the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century, the entire town of Saint Pierre was destroyed in a massive volcanic eruption. A gigantic mushroom cloud darkened the sky for more than 80 kilometres and a pyroclastic flow covered the entire city in less than a minute. Those few eyewitnesses that saw the destruction from their relative safety on the boats at harbour would say that they watched the town "vanish before our eyes". Not all the boats were spared however. Sixteen of the eighteen vessels at port were destroyed as well. At Fort-de-France, a telegraph operator received one final message from Saint-Pierre that fatal morning, the word "Allez". When the Deputy Governor sent a French warship, the Suchet, to investigate, the captain and crew were horrified at the total destruction that they saw. While they attempted to approach the city to provide assistance, the heat from the ash and the fires that would burn for days kept them back. The total area of devastation covered more than 21 square kilometres (8 square miles) with Saint Pierre being the worst area affected. Although there were numerous survivors from the fringes of the blast zone, many would later die from burns and smoke inhalation.
When the Suchet finally landed, the captain and crew found a scene of total devastation. Not a single tree was left standing and dead bodies lay everywhere, many of whom had no time to escape. Those bodies that could be examined seemed entire peaceful, the heat had killed them before than even had time to react or feel pain. As the fires subsided, sanitation parties slowly entered the areas of greatest devastation but many bodies were unable to be recovered for weeks after the eruption. Most were unrecognizable. Boats picked up some survivors from the fringe areas although many of them died soon afterward. International relief efforts slowly arrived. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt requested emergency funding from Congress stating that "one of the greatest calamities in history has befallen our neighbouring island of Martinique. The city of Saint Pierre has ceased to exist..". Canada, the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, and Russia also sent aid.
While legend maintains that there were only two survivors from the destruction of Saint Pierre, the actual number of survivors was likely much higher. It was through the descriptions of the disaster provided by survivors that a true picture of what they had experienced could be gained. Of the known survivors, three names stand out: Louis-August Cyparis and Leon Compere-Leandre, who were actually in Saint Pierre when the eruption occurred and Havivra da Ifrile, a young girl who reportedly escaped the eruption by jumping into her brother's boat and hiding in a nearby cave. She lost consciousness as the pyroclastic debris entered the cave and caused the water to rise to the ceiling. It was the Suchet that found her drifting in her charred boat two miles out to sea and pulled her to safety. She eventually made a full recovery.
Comments