On May 8, 1902, on the Caribbean island of Martinique, the volcano Mount Pele loosed the most terrifying and lethal eruption of the twentieth century. Alwyn Scarth provides a gripping day-by-day and hour-by-hour account of this devastating eruption, based primarily on chilling eyewitness accounts.
On May 8, 1902, on the Caribbean island of Martinique, the volcano Mount Pele loosed the most terrifying and lethal eruption of the twentieth century. In minutes, it killed 27,000 people and levelled the city of Saint-Pierre. In La Catastrophe, Alwyn Scarth provides a gripping day-by-day and hour-by-hour account of this devastating eruption, based primarily on chilling eyewitness accounts.
Alwyn Scarth has written extensively on volcanology. As a geographer he never forgets the crucial place of the human factor in understanding natural events and their consequences.
Preface. 1:Introduction; 2:Prelude; 3: The eruption begins; 4: An election and other activities; 5: Safety in Saint-Pierre; 6: The first victims of the eruption; 7: A message from the mayor; 8: 'What better place to be...'; 9: Ascension day dawns; 10: the nuee ardente; 11: Escape; 12: The Bay of Saint-Pierre; 13: Ruins; 14: Realization; 15: Rescue; 16: Louis-Auguste Sylbaris; 17: The second great eruption; 18: Aftermath; 19: Conclusion. Bibliography. Index. .