May 20, 1902 Eruption of Pelee

Name: May 20, 1902 Eruption of Pelee
Start: 1902-05-20
Location: Pelee, Martinique

May 20, 1902 · VEI 4 · 20 houses destroyed

Pelee in Martinique erupted on May 20, 1902 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 4. It caused a tsunami.

Where it erupted

Pelee, Martinique, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: May 20, 1902
Volcano: Pelee, stratovolcano
Country: Martinique
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 4, large (eruption column 10 to 25 km)
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Location: 14.809° N, 61.166° W

The toll

Damage: Limited (under about $1 million) with the tsunamis, mudflows and other effects it caused
Houses destroyed: 20 with the tsunamis, mudflows and other effects it caused

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.

Continuing eruptions of Mount Pelee, caused disturbances of coastal waters.

Other significant eruptions of Pelee

Every eruption in 1902 The 1900s Pelee Earthquakes near Pelee This 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 4805.