Pelee

June 6, 1902 Eruption of Pelee

June 6, 1902 · VEI 4

Pelee in Martinique erupted on June 6, 1902 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 4. It caused a tsunami.

Where it erupted

Pelee, Martinique, with its other significant eruptions.

Open the live map with volcanic ash advisories

The eruption

Date
June 6, 1902
Volcano
Pelee, stratovolcano
Country
Martinique
Volcanic Explosivity Index
4, large (eruption column 10 to 25 km)
Killed by
Waves or tsunami; Pyroclastic flows, surges and direct blasts
Location
14.809° N, 61.166° W

The toll

The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this eruption.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Reference #13721:

[…] two tsunamis resulting from violent eruptions of Mount Pelée, Martinique, during the 1902–1905 eruption. They are described in detail in Lacroix (1904), one occurring on the 6th of June and the other on the 9th of July 1902. In both cases, they were generated by pyroclastic density currents (PDC) reaching the western coast and were recorded in Fort-de-France as 5-min period oscillations of the sea, with more than 1-m amplitude.

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 7564.