Talk:Mount Pelée

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Population

According to the merged in article Mount Pelee the population was 28,000. Since the exisitng article seemed authoratative I have chosen not to change its "about 25,000" , however the more accyurte the figure the better. Rich Farmbrough 23:20, 17 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Two survivors, or one?

This article states that there were 2 survivors of the 1902 event. Martinique states that there was only one. Any idea which is correct? Joyous 19:20, Jan 15, 2005 (UTC)

Some other sources list 3 survivors: Ludger Sylbaris, Leon Compere-Leandre, and Havivra Da Ifrile. --Shaddack 22:40, 12 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Other than a small childrens' book and the internet sources, I cannot find any reference to Havivra Da Ifrile in any major source on the volcanic eruption. In La Catastrophe by Alwyn Scarth, an in-depth look at the long-term eruption, there is no mention of her. Scarth does give a great deal of evidence indicating that both Sylbaris and Compere-Leandre were survivors of the city. There were numerous survivors on the fringes of the pyroclastic flow and on ships off of Saint-Pierre - "at least 64" (Scarth, p.165).

Year of Map

The date given for the erruption is 1902. The legend beneath the map states that the map is from 1904. However, on the map itself the title reads "before the eruption"; hence the map must be from 1902 or earlier.

A Little Editing and Additions

I added some pertinent information to the nice article that already existed. Also, a little editing (replaced the "lava flow" mentioned in regard to Morne Rouge with "pyroclastic flow" and broke down the fatality numbers to illustrate the little-known fact that several locations suffered loss, not just Morne Rouge). The Scarth book is an invaluable source, as is the Global Volcanism page.

Worst Volcanic Disaster in history?

Pelee is listed as the third worst volcanic explosion in history because Krakatoa and Tambora had more people die from other causes as a result of the erpution (i.e. tsunami, famine, etc.). However, in terms of immediate loss of life from, Pelee is in fact, the deadliest.

Technically if someone dies from starvation due to famine, I beleive that their death should not be included as a casualty of a volcanic eruption. This similar to why Katrina victims can't collect from their insurance companies: their houses were destroyed by the levee floods, not by a hurricane, so hurricane insurance was useless to them.

Since Pelee killed all of its victims directly, I propose that we elevate its status to worst volcanic disaster in history. Any thoughts?

I don't agree. I would consider either a tsunami or a lahar as much a direct consequence of an eruption as a pyroclastic flow. As far as famine, that's probably more of a grey area. Ayengar 08:19, 4 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Edwin Broome born 1871 Sunderland died 8 May 1902

He passed his Chief Mate's certificate in 1897. So far there are few details about his death. What is known is that he died on board a ship off Martinique when Mount Pelee erupted. Is there a list of names of those who died on the ships in the harbour?

Most active volcano

The article states that Pelée is the most active volcano in the West Indies. I believe that this is an unsupported supposition. It could be argued that Montserrat's Soufrière Hills volcano has been more active in recent years, since in the last twelve years, it has been erupting virtually continuously. I think that this should probably be corrected in the article. Ayengar 08:09, 4 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I respectfully disagree; although it is correct that Soufrière Hills is currently in eruption (although it seems to be winding down at this time), while Pelee currently sits quiet, the term "most active volcano" refers to number of (known or dated) historic volcanic eruptions rather than current activity alone. If we compare Soufrière Hills with Pelee on the GVP website (Soufrière Hills @ http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1600-05=&volpage=erupt and Pelee @ http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1600-12=&volpage=erupt ) then we find out that Pelee has been much more active over a longer period of time. User:RnTg