May 8, 1902 Eruption of Pelee
Pelee in Martinique erupted on May 8, 1902 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 4. The eruption killed 28,000 people. It caused a tsunami.
Where it erupted
Pelee, Martinique, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
- Date
- May 8, 1902
- Volcano
- Pelee, stratovolcano
- Country
- Martinique
- Volcanic Explosivity Index
- 4, large (eruption column 10 to 25 km)
- Killed by
- Pyroclastic flows, surges and direct blasts
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Location
- 14.809° N, 61.166° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 28,000
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
On May 8 at 8:02 local time pyroclastic flows destroyed the city of Saint-Pierre, 8 km south of the crater, and killed all its 27-28,000 inhabitants but one, or possibly two. (reference #2687)
CAVW gives death toll as 28,000 but accounts published at the time give 30,000. More recent workers argue that normal population of 26,000 had been swollen by a few thousand refugees from outlying areas, despite the many evacuees. 28,000 is compromise figure. (reference #9675)
Other significant eruptions of Pelee
More
Every eruption in 1902The 1900sPeleeEarthquakes near PeleeThis day in weather history
Sources
Volcanoes and significant eruptions from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 4193.