The Last Days of St. Pierre: The Volcanic Disaster That Claimed 30,000 Lives

by Ernest Zebrowski Jr.

On May 8, 1902, Mont Pelée on the island of Martinique exploded. A deadly cloud of steam and ash churned through plantations and villages, flattened the grand city of St. Pierre, then thundered into the bay where it sank eighteen ships and hundreds of smaller craft. Within a minute or two, nearly 30,000 humans died. The splintered rubble of their homes and belongings burned for three days, and the world began to understand the awesome power of nuées ardentes, glowing avalanches of hot gas and debris that sweep down the slopes of volcanoes, instantly steaming to death anything in its path. The enormous death toll was particularly tragic because it was avoidable. Had it not been for an unfortunate combination of scientific misjudgment and political hubris, most of the victims would have escaped.

In The Last Days of St. Pierre, Ernest Zebrowski Jr. counts down the days leading up to the catastrophe, and unfolds a tale intertwining human foolishness and heroism with the remarkable forces of nature. Illustrations contrast life in Martinique before and after the eruption, and eyewitness accounts bring the story to life.

Although it seems a long time since the destruction of St. Pierre, it is a mere blink of an eye in our planet’s geological history. Mont Pelée will erupt again, as will Vesuvius, Krakatau, St. Helens, Thera, and most other infamously fatal volcanoes, and human lives will again be threatened. The St. Pierre disaster has taught us much about the awesome power of volcanic forces and the devastation they can bring.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

292 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2002

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am now officially afraid of volcanos. Yup, thanks to this book, I am a volcanophobiac. Something about the prospect of being flash cooked that just isn't overly appealing to me. Breathing 1200 degree air, getting pummeled by rocks, raining hot ash, boiling hot mud slides.....nope, nope, nope and nope. I learned that volcanos are pretty much natures atom bomb. Ever heard of a pyroclastic surge? Me neither. But now there isn't anything in the world I want to avoid more. This is a very good book about a catastrophic event. Over 30,000, yes, 30 THOUSAND people rubbed out in an instant. This was also a well documented event so the book is loaded with accurate info. No guess work or theory involved. If you live close to a volcano, this book may make you consider selling your house and relocating. Horrible tragedy. Great read.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

After weeks of intense volcanic activity, on May 8, 1902, a "pyroclastic surge" exploded from the side of Mount Pelée on the Caribbean island of Martinique. A cloud of superheated steam and ash traveling at 120 miles per hour struck St. Pierre, the largest city on the island and the "Paris of the Caribbean." Within minutes, 30,000 people were cooked alive by the 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit volcanic cloud.

It reduced stone buildings to rubble and burned bodies so badly that neither the sex nor the race could be identified. At least 16 ships docked at St. Pierre were destroyed and sent to the bottom. For days, the entire city was a raging inferno. Over the following weeks, at least two additional pyroclastic surges struck St. Pierre. Most of the bodies were unidentifiable and had to be buried in mass graves. Only two men survived, a cobbler on the outskirts of the city, and a prisoner in a solitary confinement bunker. Both had severe burn scars all over their back, legs, and feet.

St. Pierre was the deadliest volcanic disaster of the 20th century and the catalyst for the modern study of volcanology. Ernest Zebrowski wrote a good overall history of the disaster: the optimism of the population in the face an erupting volcano, the general scientific ignorance of volcanos at the time, and the best and worst of humanity after such terrible disasters. It is a good example both of man's hubris and his insignificance in the face of God's power and the forces of nature.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad I wasn't there!

[JoAnn Plante]

I usually don’t read stories of a scientific nature, but due to the pandemic, I am thinking about the Caribbean Islands and how much I would love to be there right now. This story is about a series of volcano eruptions in the late 1890’s and early 1900’s. The book is written as a series of stories about different parts of the island of Martinique and the role that St. Vincent and Guadeloupe played in the evacuation and recovery.
I enjoyed this book because it highlighted several prominent figures in Martinique. Some were politicians, some were educated, but most of them had very little knowledge of volcanos and how and why they erupt.
The story also highlights a few journalists and professors from the USA. They traveled to Martinique to see first-hand the devastation and destruction. Whole towns were obliterated and thousands of people died.
I don’t like to read history books because the reading is too dry and factual, but this book made everything real. It tells the history of the island in a logical, step-by-step way and the explorers at the time are real people. It talks about their findings and the puzzles that will occupy their minds for years to come.
The descriptions of the volcanic eruptions are so realistic. As you read you can almost feel the heat of the fire or the steaming hot water rushing from the mountains. It is such a complete and accurate account of what really happened on that island, I believe it could be used as a history book of the island.
I enjoyed reading this book more than I expected. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about Martinique and volcanoes.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was obviously well-researched. It's written in a way that I personally found quite engaging. Perhaps, at times, I felt it got a little long, but that was rare. For the most part, I was riveted.

One of the things I appreciated most was how Zebrowski explained the mindset of the time. Ever since I learned of this disaster many years ago, I thought to myself, "Man, that volcano was erupting for weeks! Why didn't people leave? So stupid!" But Zebrowski shows that their thought process made sense. What they knew of volcanology (minimal) coupled with how the volcano behaved in the early part of the eruption, plus their faith in the geology of the area to protect them, lead to their belief they were in a safe spot. Really fascinating. I also enjoyed his brief exploration into the part politics played in the disaster.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves to read about disasters.

[Les Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched, we organized and written. Very fascinating if you are going to be visiting Martinique.

[Jisoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

underrated (?) in the volcanology community

[Jerry Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Straightforward account of the Mt. Pelee disaster in 1902 but I learned a lot. Amazing how uninformed we were generally about volcanoes 100 years ago. Zebrowski doesn't put much of his thinking into print and the result is historically written but there are some assumptions on dialogue between key characters that takes some license but also makes it that much more real and brings out the tragedy and folly of many of those involved, and the heroism of others.

Takes a more sympathetic view of the Governer than other accounts I've read - always easy to look back and second guess but remember it hadn't happened yet! Recommended for anyone with an interest in this historical time and this specific disaster. Some minor discussion of volcanoes and pyroclastic surges but nothing in depth and/or technical.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently I read Lally Brown'sThe Volcano, Montserrat and Me: Twenty years with an active volcano, which details her experience of living on Montserrat during its' volcano erupting, and what a difference almost 100 years makes between the two eruptions.

On May 8, 1902, Mount Pelee on the Island of Martinique erupted, literally destroying the city of St. Pierre. Only one person survived, a prisoner in a very sturdy cell out of a population of 25,000 people(5,000 more were from the refugees that had moved into the city because of the rumbling volcano).

A very informative and interesting book.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's crazy how there are so many signs leading up to large eruptions and how long it's taken mankind to learn to react to these signs.

The moment from this book that will really stay with me is when the local paper printed a story the day before the eruption stating that if an evacuation was necessary it would be obvious and could be carried out "just like Pompeii" (in 1902 they hadn't discovered the "gaps" of bodies in the ash, and assumed the city had been evacuated due to the lack of skeletons.)

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I would not be interested in this book because it's nonfiction but I actually enjoyed it very much. It is such a sad story but is so interesting, especially to see the lack of scientific knowledge in 1902 as compared to today.

[S.L. Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come.