They Thought They Were Safe: The Mount Pelée Disaster 1902 | Plainly Difficult Documentary

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thanks for watching, check out me other bits! Outro song: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ooGXm2Zmn9OfoMk Instagram: instagram.com/plainly.john/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/Plainlydifficult Merch: plainly-difficult.creator-spring.com Twitter:twitter.com/Plainly_D

[@satisfied656]

I had to "google" #centigrade.... i only know Celsius and Fahrenheit🤔

[@Elevatedboost2000]

I’m not mad but confused why you didn’t post on Saturday

[@johnruddick686]

Mount Pelee is pronounced Mon pel-E-A.

[@Elevatedboost2000]

@@PoorChoiceOfWords1224 cool story bro.

[@iamarizonaball2642]

I would recommend the Phoenix dust storm of 2011 which covered the city. Being from the southwest, it doesn’t seem that deadly, as we’ve dealt with other dust storms before. But this one, this one was *DIFFERENT.* there way no way this one could be different? Could it? Wrong. Very, wrong. Though the death toll was low, it caused a whole lot of economic damages.

[@chrisc6857]

Read about this a long time ago, you left out a couple of notable details: 1: The geography of Pelee's peak was such that there was a narrow notch where the rim of the crater was much lower than anywhere else, almost guaranteeing that the majority of pyroclastic flows will go in that direction. The position of that notch was such that it was basically a giant gun sight aiming the eruptions directly at St. Pierre's location. 2: The reason why the government didn't let people leave is because there were elections coming up and they wanted everyone there to vote. 3: Those in authority were indeed fully aware of the danger. Geologists (Vulcanology was not yet a separate discipline) had warned them. And one of the ships they tried to keep from leaving was an Italian cargo ship whose captain had said to them "If Vesuvius was looking like your volcano, I'd get the hell out of Naples immediately." He then defied the order and left, getting his ship clear in time to survive.

[@Tindometari]

The Captain is responsible for the safety of the ship and all who sail in her. He made the right call.

[@msquietwoman]

I remember watching another video that pointed out the part about the elections, but the other two you shared were new to me.

[@MarvinHartmann452]

​​@@user-ze2zm4sz1b understand what you're saying, but on ships and planes, it's easier to inforce these rules, in public transportation, driver can get themselves killed because some twat don't want to pay 5$. I wouldn't want to risk my life for 5$. You are alone against criminals, in other transportation, they're many to help. Edit: Oh, and even if it was free, I won't use public transportation for these reasons.

[@Inferryu]

@@MarvinHartmann452 Adding to that, most of the time you can actually get out of the vehicle and look for aid, wich is something of a rare occurrence on ships and planes.

[@davidlafleche1142]

Scientists were surprised by the horizontal eruption of Mount St. Helens, but that kind was rather common.

[@twocvbloke]

When a "mountain" emits a huge loud and proud eggy fart, leave, just leave, don't hang around to watch, just get out of there and don't come back...

[@mjanny6330]

"Mommy the mountain do a farts!" It's like you're 6 lol

[@rubberneckinc.8937]

Excellent advice, sound advice, advice to be followed. Even the stupid should know to follow this advice

[@maxloku]

I hate the fact that you sound like a child yet you say it in a way that's really funny.

[@SonnyBurgess-qn9bg]

Anything that does you should leave

[@MrBillagordon]

This thing Sharted

[@nabagaca]

Its really hard to tell if this was a case of science not being advanced enough for them to know the warning signs of a volcano about to erupt, or if they were simply ignoring the warning signs. It felt almost beyond reckless to deny ships to enter to take away those who wanted to flee.

[@Ragetiger1]

It wasn't, the people in power choose to ignore the warnings and forced the rest to comply. It's why when I hear "Trust us, we are the experts" I will cringe. The newspapers in that area for the days and weeks leading upto the eruption all were using that line that the volcano was not going to erupt, it was perfectly safe. It's why even the governor made sure to barricade the only road out of Saint-Pierre, turning anyone that showed up away. They were the experts, after all, they knew more than the lowly people that lived there, or the animals that were trying to escape as well.

[@superomegaprimemk2]

I think its a bit of both, thou I believe the Groverner was the one being a moron and refusing to let ships leave the port, so a lot of those deaths are on his hands, thou he met the same fate as most of the other people!

[@A_Ducky]

​@@Ragetiger1 Believe it or not, that's exactly what they do in wars. Those in power say to the little people "there's not gonna be a war, calm down" while heavy artillery rolls up onto every hill and mountain around you. That's how Srebrenica massacre happened and the whole damn war in Bosnia. I had a misfortune to be 14yo when it started. 17 when we got brutally kicked out, at gunpoint (and not just that, but I'll refrain).

[@ashkebora7262]

@Ragetiger1 Only a proper idiot doesn't listen to experts. The problem with your complaint is... It is distinctly never experts that make the, "this is fine" decisions. It's always, ALWAYS a politician or a politically appointed goon saying it for political reasons.

[@craigh5236]

Volcanic science is fairly recent. Remember how many balls were dropped for Mount St. Helens and that was in the 1980s

[@krissteel4074]

I remember reading about this when I was very young and apart from the insane amount of casualties. The thing that stuck with me was the whole 'nah its fine!' which sort of went to ludicrous extremes with burning cinders falling from the sky which 'this is fine.jpg' and just sort of progressively got worse and worse until it just killed everyone

[@leschatssuperstars1741]

The authoritys saw no need to panic as they thought the 25m deep ditch beetween the mountain and the city. They thought a small ditch like that would stop pyroclastic flows and alllllll would be fine. Casual case of the government of my country being idiots.

[@krissteel4074]

@@leschatssuperstars1741 Yeah you definitely want to be 25 miles out to sea and going the other way whenever pyroclastic flow gets mentioned.

[@A_Ducky]

We also had burning cinders falling like rain in 2017 and 2020 northern California fires. Half of the wine country got decimated.

[@A_Ducky]

​@@leschatssuperstars1741 By digging around the city - which is on the ocean as my limited knowledge of that area would suggest - could have had even more dire consequences. If there's a grotto underneath, and there usually is more than one, ocean water getting in there reacts like dynamite.. turns the entire island into a pressure cooker when combined with hot lava. That's what happens in Jules Verne book "The Mysterious Island" (sorry for spoiling such a work of art) - the entire island implodes and is wiped out off the map... just because ocean water got into the grottoes beneath, while the lava kept pouring and killing everything above. There ARE survivors, but you need to read the book for that 🤓 it's really quite amazing one. Highly recommended for anyone who wants a good read with some excellent engineering info which stands to this day, despite being written 200yrs ago. It's also a free book on most platforms, so NO EXCUSES 😜

[@leschatssuperstars1741]

@@krissteel4074 Yep!

[@stuffedninja1337]

“But that wasn’t the end for Mount Pelée.” Oh my god. “But that STILL wasn’t the end for Mount Pelée.” Oh my *GOD* . “But that *STILL* wasn’t the end for Mount Pelée!” * throws up hands and walks away *

[@orangeapples]

Government officials: “We don’t do that here.”

[@Tindometari]

Once you've seen one cloud of searing, toxic volcanic gas and dust racing toward you at >180 kph ... you've pretty much seen them all and you can cross that item off your bucket list. Escaping that is ... well, it's plainly difficult.

[@bob456fk6]

Yeah, your bucket list is totally complete then. 😞 "This place sucks, next year I'm vacationing on Montserrat."

[@silver-berry]

Nicely done in the closing there. 👍🏻

[@chloehennessey6813]

I’ve seen a pyroclastic flow in person. The power, the rumble. It shook me to my core. The heat was immense; unbearable and I was 400 meters away at least.

[@chukukaogude5894]

Where exactly did you see it?

[@SeanHartnett-t8c]

where?

[@nowaywithyoueveragai]

This strongly reminds many ppl of the 1985 tragedy of Armero. Survivors recount of politicians and religious figures giving opposite views of the situation (opposed to what scientists were warning).

[@reachandler3655]

I was thinking the same.

[@Geoff69420]

How many horror/disaster movies start with politicians ignoring scientists' warnings?

[@neuralmute]

@@Geoff69420 How many real life disasters start with politicians ignoring scientists' warnings?

[@jamiebraswell5520]

As a child in the 1970s, I was fascinated by natural disasters. Our Elementary school library had books devoted to these events, one of course being about volcanos. I always remember two stories in particular...one being the story of Mt. Paricutin in Mexico, a volcano that literally grew from nothing in a farmer's field. The other was Mt. Pelee and the destruction of St. Pierre. Both stories were captivating and scary. The idea of a crack just opening and becoming a volcano, and the huge death toll from an entire city that happened in moments. Thank you for doing this video. Also, thanks for alerting me about the old movie.

[@Eric_Hutton.1980]

Not a good day for anyone.

[@TJ-el5tm]

The guy who survived in the jail was there for murder and was let free after the disaster and became a minor celebrity traveling with the Barnum and Bailey circus, so his day can be called a wash I guess

[@baomao7243]

@@TJ-el5tm sounds like a killer day

[@TJ-el5tm]

@@baomao7243 bah-zing 😂

[@ragnapodewski4694]

The French gver ment questioned all survivors at the borders of the death zone. Their reports are terrible. The young Leon Compere survived in his souterrain workshop and reported of some people hiding in his room and dying there.

[@juk-hw5lv]

The characteristics of the damage causes by the pyroclastic flow, as well as the telegraph going silent while transmitting a message remind me eerily of Hiroshima (the first sign that the city was totally destroyed was when a technician in Tokyo noted that the Hiroshima broadcast radio transmitter - used as a relay for broadcast transmitted from Tokyo - went off line)

[@ZGryphon]

It also made me think of the scene in the 1964 film version of _Fail-Safe_ where the President's telephone line to Moscow goes dead in a scream of feedback.

[@christopherg2347]

That is like the plot of every disaster movie: - scientists has plenty of warning - major decides not to act on it, "because of the tourism" - everyone dies pointlessly

[@ElleDuderino]

Hmmm…sounds exactly like Maui right now.

[@christopherg2347]

@@ElleDuderino How are those two cases comparable?

[@ElleDuderino]

@@christopherg2347 well, similar to as you described, in Maui we see: -scientists gave plenty of warning -govt decides to not act on it bc of tourism and other financial interests of non-local local investors -shit ton of native and local people needlessly die

[@patriciayoung3267]

I have always been fascinated by this disaster. It's simularities to what happened to people in Pompei are striking.

[@klayed]

boom

[@ethribin4188]

Exactly. It was milder than Pompeii, but its still very very similar

[@sjeason]

Only difference is the eruption of Vesuvius lasted most of a day/night and the victims were killed at separate times rather then all at once. It is incredibly similar to what happened to Herculaneum in that eruption though, where one single pyroclastic flow in the middle of the night swept through and wiped the entire town away.

[@pauldourlet]

Mount Pelee was far worst .The Pols and Newspaper Editor getting people to stay .Ferdinand Clerc wanted to evacuate the City but could not get traction .

[@APerson863]

Have you ever thought about covering the watersnoodramp in the netherlands 1953. It was one of the biggest natural disasters in the area, that eventually resulted in the construction of the delta works.

[@vustvaleo8068]

Mount Pelee was still thirsty for blood that it needed to take the rescue workers' lives with the victims.

[@debrareplogle651]

How very sad that the government kept people from leaving , how many people would have survived otherwise. Thank You for the history lesson. As always very good

[@ohioplayer-bl9em]

Lesson 1. Never live on an island without having your own boat.. especially if it’s a volcano. Lesson 2. Never trust anyone except yourself to keep you safe.

[@MRptwrench]

Old enough to remember Mt. St. Helens and gotta say we've come a long way in detecting signs of danger in and around active volcanos.

[@anna_in_aotearoa3166]

It's crazy to me that even with all those huge advances in predictions & monitoring, we can still get tragedies like the White Island casualties here just a few years ago? 😔 Just as in the Mt Pelée instance, often seems to stem from individuals, companies, or even governments putting other things ahead of people's potential safety... Whether that's money (White Is), votes (Mt Pelée), or just not admitting to being wrong...? Would love to see us avoid any further losses of this type at all in future! But perhaps what's more realistic is just to hope that none are as drastic as in this instance, where multiple locations & waves of people were so devastated...?

[@evonne315]

​@anna_in_aotearoa3166 The White Island incident angers me. Nobody should have been allowed near that island yet they ignored its change in color (indicating advancement) that very day with tourists there and kept on hiking. I wanted to scream into my phone at the people in the video to go and run NOW! Nobody reacted to what the guide said at all. If even one person started to run perhaps it would have triggered other to go too. Its some kind of herd mentality thing.

[@nonamesplease6288]

Geologic time is heard to wrap your mind around. Generations lived and died on the island between the point where the mountain started threatening an eruption to the date it actually happened.

[@ericwlezniak2081]

It's crazy how even after the initial eruption, Mount Pelee just kept killing thousands.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

She was angry!

[@christopherconard2831]

For some reason I thought of Night of the Living Dead. *Send more brains*

[@Cyberwolf9999]

Yes I do not know what the rescuer's were rescuing? I mean they could surely find the 2 survivors in a matter of hours/a day. Sounds more like they wanted to pillage. I mean 2000 rescuersfor a city burned to the ground?

[@SeanHartnett-t8c]

glad i wasn’t the only one.@@christopherconard2831

[@ellenbryn]

I read a lot about this one over the years, including the governor, ordering troops to keep people in the town, because he was worried about losing the right class of voters for election that day, but there's always something new to learn. That film is fascinating, and surprisingly accurate - more so than many modern documentaries, which mistakenly show lava flows at the beginning of the eruption. This type volcano, like Mount St. Helens, Krakatau, and many in Japan, Indonesia, and central/south America, plugs up and builds pressure until it explodes like a bomb and/or the summit collapses, dropping a superheated avalanche of hot gases and pulverized ash

[@Yah-Izoa-Hakaboth]

And guess where the Governor’s soul is now? Burning for all eternity in Sheol for his prideful ways!

[@ferretyluv]

You’re describing a Plinean eruption. Not all eruptions are Plinean. They’re also not all pahoehoe lava flows like in Hawaii.

[@larshedstrom4223]

@@Yah-Izoa-Hakabothnot Sheol but gehenna or the valley of hinnom!

[@1blackice1]

I first learned of this disaster from Neil Degrass Tyson's Cosmos series where he talked about it. The part that stood out the most to me was the one survivor who was pulled out of the underground jail cell. He was arrested sometime before the eruption and had no idea what had happened outside. He would have been put in the cell with the city and everyone in it behind him, then when he came out, it was all completely gone.

[@crf80fdarkdays]

Nah he woulda died

[@samarnadra]

​@@crf80fdarkdaysHe actually did survive. It was below ground and pyroclastic flows move at something like 400 mph and are hot enough to somewhat hover over the ground, so while he was burned by some radiant heat from it, it passed above him without hitting him directly, and so he survived. I learned about this some 20 years ago so I may be mixing it up with a similar situation where someone was in what amounted to an aboveground bunker-like building, that had a secure door that just happened to face away. Same sort of deal. It could have been the other person officially rescued from there. But, my memory notwithstanding, the physics is the same: pyroclastic flows move incredibly fast, so it is technically possible to partially avoid them by what is usually sheer luck. But the horror that happens if that building that shields you has any gaps at all honestly makes getting hit directly by it probably the better option. The account I read from another eruption of the superheated ash and gasses seeping into houses with people trapped inside still haunts me. I think some people actually survived that too, somehow. So, it is technically possible to be in the area of a pyroclastic flow and survive, but it is not an experience anyone wants to have, and the best place to be during a volcanic eruption is _anywhere else._

[@TBonerton]

​@@crf80fdarkdaystroll-tard

[@chadikhr7258]

@@samarnadra did he get out asap ? cuz if not how did he survive wit no guards to bring him food and drinks

[@Fusilier7]

This was a time in history, at the turn of the twentieth century, when major cities in North America were ruined by natural disasters, such as the 1900 Galveston hurricane, and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and of course, the 1902 eruption of Mt. Pelee. Out of the ashes of these disasters, began the age of natural science - meteorology, seismology, and volcanology, although some of these natural phenomenon were studied prior to events, it was the disasters themselves that led to greater research, that shapes our modern science today.

[@Destroyer_V0]

Yup. Shame our knowledge is often built on the blood and bones of the dead.

[@Wawawalulu]

Mount tambora eruption of 1815 is also an interesting one to look into.

[@JGCR59]

Interestingly the french Barque Belem, one of the oldest tall ships still around, only escaped the eruption because the roadstead of St.Pierre was full, so she had to drop anchor farther away from the disaster. So she's sort of a material "eyewitness" to it

[@mad_fox7569]

I am a resident of Martinique only subscribed to American youtubers, in particular to learn English and also because I love American culture. Thank you for talking about my tiny little island.

[@Elldeeve]

Perhaps subscribe to English KZbinrs if you are learning. It’s like American, just without the riots, school shootings and trams.

[@LilyGazou]

Lots of people would love to live in Martinique.

[@Velereonics]

I think this particular KZbin channel is run by a British guy. But if you can manage to understand British people and Americans you've learned every accent

[@jaysonstinson9458]

@@Elldeeve no one from the UK is in any position to talk crap about any other country, seeing as how it is a full on dystopic nightmare, easily the worst Western countries of all with Canada and Australia not far behind.

[@Merennulli]

The auto-captions are particularly evil sometimes. 6:15 "a brief LOL came in the morning of Monday the 5th"

[@MrChopemup]

I live on an island called La Palma in Canary Islands. It was a big volcano here a 2 years ago, i’m still not able to go back to my apartment. Because the gases are coming up from the ground still. And it’s closed to the population. But quite an amazing experience first thing earthquakes. In the explosion. In three months of volcano ash everywhere. And lava ,

[@vividesiles3763]

I'm from Guadeloupe, sister island, and I heard about it as a kid, it's terrifying, I actually fear that our own volcano would do that one day. Rest in peace to all the lives Lost, and the poor rescuers!

[@julianmessina1969]

I've been to St Pierre numerous times. There were countless warnings to evacuate by eminent specialists that were ignored due to upcoming municipal elections. There was also an earthquake days before the eruption that caused a tsunami in the Harbour, causing significant damage to boats and docks. This complicated evacuation.

[@angelaf5040]

Wwow! I'd never heard about this eruption. Awesome video, it was presented so well and absolutely kept my ADHD brain's attention!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!!

[@nononever3592]

You really do a wonderful job with your documentaries, John. I have learned so much in the last several years, including topics to which I'd never be exposed in the regular course of life (*cough* radioactive anything *cough*). Your videos are high on my must-see list. Thanks for that!

[@A_Ducky]

Oh definitely a channel that pays off having on 🔔

[@thehaprust6312]

I've been to St. Pierre. You can visit the ruins of the jail among other remnants. It's pretty grim.

[@EclecticDD]

Yes, I've been there too. I remember seeing where the theater was and the melted metal and glass of the light fixtures.

[@cbpd89]

I'm planning a visit later this year. I'm glad I found this video as it's more informative than most of the sources I've found in preparation for my trip.

[@EclecticDD]

@@cbpd89 There is a 51 minute movie called Fire Mountain about this also, if you can find it streaming.

[@margauxpnw]

@@cbpd89It’s very interesting to visit, and scary to see the mountain watching you. If you like to drink, the Depaz distillery is right there on its slopes and it’s aged rum is extraordinary. They say it’s because all the volcanic ash makes the sugar cane grow so well. Have a great trip!

[@Wawawalulu]

​​@@cbpd89nothing was said here that isnt already in the wikipedia article about it though

[@garyreid6165]

I remember reading about this disaster when I was little. When I read about the convict’s rescue and release from prison because the government felt that he had survived a hellish ordeal. Pyroclastic flows or as it was called in the book a “Glowing Cloud”, are no joke. The film Dante’s Peak had the excellent depiction of a pyroclastic flow. Very destructive. Mount Pelee’s pyroclastic flows must’ve been just as destructive At over 100 miles per hour as Dante’s Peak’s pyroclastic flow was a good deal faster. 30,000 lives lost. If the mountain rumbles, pay close attention.

[@ahronrichards9611]

Was looking forward to seeing you do this for some time John! Other than some things you left out, which were touched on by other commenters, this was a great video. Being a native of neighbouring island of St. Vincent, however, I do have to tell you that our volcano is called La Soufriere. Fun fact: other than the 1902 eruption which was the worst on record (more than 1500 died due to plantation owners refusing to lose a day of work and thought workers just said that because they wanted a day off) there were 3 other eruptions: 1971-72 (an effusive eruption), 1979 (explosive, no deaths due to advanced science) and again in 2020-21 (an effusive and later explosive eruption, similar in scale to 1902 but also caused no deaths).

[@caffreydavis218]

As a Caribbean Native, we learn of this incident yearly in history class in high school, and how it can happen again sooner or later.

[@gursisingh1940]

I hope they teach you that the cause of the casualties was the goverment. Never trust governments!!!

[@KnightRider872]

Edgar Cayce said if Martinique Mount Pelee erupts AND Mount Etna in Sicily eruption overlaps then the whole world has 90 days to get away from the coasts as a pole shift will follow.

[@220017255]

You'd think after the second erupting, they would have suspended rescue operations. Crazy they lost close to 3000 people before that

[@SuperCatacata]

Many were probably volunteering. Not gonna fault them for putting their lives on the line to help. They knew the possible dangers and did it anyways.

[@220017255]

@SuperCatacata yes but someone had to be in charge of at least the respective countries sending in people right, not everyone some the same language, so either it was uncoordinated or coordinated in some way. All praise to them in not Shaming them but dinnertime should have made the call to pull out and watch it. Like i said the majority of victims would already be dead from the toxic extremely hot cloud of dust.

[@sabrekai8706]

I first read of the Mt Pelee disaster as a kid junior public school. (one of my favourite things was the arrival of the bookmobile every Wednesday) but this is the first I've heard of the subsequent eruptions. I learn something new every time I watch your videos. Well done.

[@shivalishankersharma1562]

I have watched another documentary about this disaster few years ago and it kinda shook me to the core by the sheer number of casualties. Its just unfathomable.

[@hayhayswanboat]

Coincidentally, not far from you, just north west of London, is High Wycombe, which is the UK base for most of the St Vincent diaspora, the island which also had eruptions mentioned in your vid. St V also had pyroclastic flow eruptions a couple of years ago. Their Mt Soufriere is still very much alive and kicking

[@NickJohnCoop]

Unfortunately hindsight can be very useful for dealing with volcanoes, you *really* don’t want to be part of that example. When a volcano is starting to smoke? Be somewhere else.

[@talesfromtheleashexpatdogl1426]

When I look out my bedroom window, I have an amazing view of Popocapetl, Malinche and Orizaba. If its your time to go then adios.

[@mutolover3851]

Overhead maps while you are naming the cities/towns/villages involved would compliment the video nicely. Otherwise it was good stuff as always

[@gigib.2947]

My middle name is Martinique. My parents honeymooned here in the 90s.

[@anomaly95]

I know it's probably stock footage, but I recognize the film projector @:49. It's a Kinoton. Possibly a PK60-D or a FP50. I ran those for 7-ish years.

[@panqueque445]

Imagine being that prisoner stuck in his cell, knowing you can't get out.

[@SiVlog1989]

One volcanic eruption that could have been picked up by volcanologists, but with one exception wasn't, was that of Mount Bezymianny in March 1956. Located on the Kamchatka Peninsula of what was at the time the Soviet Union, modern day Russia, it erupted in a similar way to which Mount St Helens erupted 24 years later, in May 1980, sideways, aka a lateral blast

[@mirdordinii5783]

The fascinating part about this eruption is how, by the known science at the time, St Pierr should have been safe. The people running were erational. But of course modern volcanology only really began in the aftermath of Karatoa. Pyroclastic flows were poorly understood and no well known. It would be this eruption that would help to kick the field I to over drive. The shock of the events and the eruptions ability to be studied in more detail helped to rapidly further the fields understanding. But we're still learning.

[@WangMingGe]

The desire to blindly trust the "experts" to do your thinking for you; the faith that "The Science" of one's current moment in time is essentially perfect and can't be mistaken....that is as strong, if not stronger, than ever, sadly.

[@mariasato2884]

Refused to let boats depart?? what the hell!!

[@paulrasmussen8953]

People elect idiots at times

[@dominicsaraga1517]

You never dissapoint, I love going on break to watch one of these epic videos. Please keep up the great work!

[@sbcinema]

There is a valuable lesson to be learned from this, never assume the authorities are right...

[@LilyGazou]

“Stay at your desk. The building is safe” 9/11

[@ElleDuderino]

“Turn around and drive directly back into the raging inferno” Lahaina, Hawaii

[@bubbadunnam3944]

Another awesome video John!!! Keep up all the great work!!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thanks! You too!

[@mattwilliams3456]

This is the first time I was educated about the second flow which killed the rescuers.

[@CYMotorsport]

Just unsolicited feedback meant to help and of course n of 1 so take with a grain of salt, there’s a noticeable deviation to on your normal cadence that is slightly distracting from your otherwise excellent work. To be specific and constructive , an example is at 0:39 I genuinely thought the sentence finished on 3 occasions & by the end, I had become confused what the overall objective of the sentence was which ended up being to say simply that someone else is responsible for the media. It’s something I’d want to know as the change does seem purposeful compared to your other work so I’m passing along. Mean no offense by it.

[@ragnapodewski4694]

An instructing report is from Captain E.W. Freeman of the Roddam who survived with many burns

[@timothyclark-sl4il]

Awesome video! Very well done! You did forget to mention the Lava Sharks though. Many deaths were because of these ferocious volcanic predators.

[@malik740]

Whenever I think you must have run out of large scale disasters to cover you find another one I never heard about haha

[@shewolfsiren]

Not only did the governor--the man who said San Piere was safe--die, he had his wife and children brought there too as proof that there was nothing to fear, and they all ended up dying as well

[@cydkriletich6538]

Reminds me of the tragedy of the flood of Galveston, TX, when the people were told by their leader that they would be safe. They weren’t.

[@cadillacdeville5828]

Smdh, I thought it said " 30,000 Pineapples" at first 😒🤦🏾‍♀️

[@captaincrunch1707]

That’s criminal to not allow departure boats.

[@aircraftandmore9775]

Pyroclastic flow moment……… never underestimate the power of volcanos

[@terencehill2320]

Another video that raven's eye covered not too long ago this one goes up.

[@elizabethroberts6215]

……when I studied Geomorphology, what’s now known as a pyroclastic flow was called by the French name, ‘nuee ardente’, ie glowing cloud………which came about after this very eruption………

[@A_Ducky]

PD, have you ever read "Mysterious Island" by Verne?

[@PlainlyDifficult]

No I Haven't is it worth a read?

[@A_Ducky]

@@PlainlyDifficult This very video (and I'm pretty sure more of your research on islands + volcanoes + pressure that builds under the islands and why it's bad for ocean water to simply "squash" the whole thing) is all explained via a beautiful story - in which you also learn the fate of Captain Nemo from 20,000 leagues.. it's highly recommended. And my favorite book of all time, if I only had to choose just one.

[@PhilipMurphyExtra]

Always great to learn something new, Education is for life after all.

[@stuartaaron613]

I first learned about this disaster back in December 1973 when I was twelve. I was on a cruise with my family, and in the ship's store was a book about this eruption (I still have the book). In January 1990 I went on vacation to Martinique and went on a hike up Mt. Pelee to its summit. I have photographs of my standing there, holding that same book.

[@ey3z4ya]

2973 caught me off guard lol

[@stuartaaron613]

@@ey3z4ya typo, corrected.

[@AndrewJamesWilliams]

The only mercy is that those killed by the pyroclastic flows wouldn't have felt anything as at those temperatures there flesh would have been instantly vaporised, any inside buildings before the turbulence of the flow levelled them would have died instantly of thermal shock.

[@ashkebora7262]

You do not die instantly from thermal shock. The VAST majority of deaths people say are "instant" are not instant. This is not an instant death. Quick, but not instant what so ever.

[@poempadgett4664]

It’s sickening that the PtB there, their government, wouldn’t allow the ships loaded with all of those trying to flee passengers to leave, and consequently, they all perished.

[@playgroundchooser]

Is it Saturday already? What am I doing at the office!!???!!! Thanks for the Bonus Episode John!!! :)

[@macaylacayton2915]

one of the few times where essentially everyone was wrong about what disaster was gonna be covered. damn, a large amount of people thought halifax, nova scotia.

[@Chris-ru3ri]

It’s like living next to the river and your surprised when your house floods

[@Jailyn123]

Volcano already give them a signs many signs that its gonna blow out...but they still ignored it....

[@spider0804]

When Campi Flegri pops it will make this look like a holiday vacation. Not if, but when, it is the only supervolcano with enough melt percentage to pop and a history of ground rise. Magma is only 2km from the surface.

[@LilyGazou]

👁👁. I’m going to check that out.

[@LilyGazou]

Wow. Near Naples. And no escape route.

[@spider0804]

@@LilyGazou Its not near naples, It includes it. Vesuvious is just a flank volcano on the edge of the entire volcanic system of Campi Flegri.

[@CesarinPillinGaming]

Wow, so Mount Pele really went "How many times do I have to teach you this lesson old man!" as he killed again and again.. o_O

[@naivenostalgia]

Wow, thank you for the surprise Thursday upload! I learned quite a bit from this video, including: • Martinique has a volcano called Mount Pelée which erupted multiple times between 1902-1905. • Before the major 1902 eruption, its capital city had a population of ~30,000 people which has dwindled to ~4,000 people today. • There was a lost media film from 1905 based on the cataclysmic first 1902 eruption which killed most of the 30,000 people living in Saint Pierre. • Martinique was not always called Martinique. I looked up this next part, but it was originally inhabited by the Arawak people before it was colonized by the Carib people (who were from modern-day Venezuela). The Caribs named the island "Matinino" because they killed all male Arawaks, leaving only the women & children alive. • Fort-de-France became the new capital city of Martinique in 1902 following the decimation of Saint Pierre & remains the island's capital to this day.

[@martinavaslovik3433]

Well Krakatau was worse but that was in 1883, official death count was 36, 417, but it was likely much higher.

[@birdgod5584]

I think the reason it didn't have even more deaths was because it occurred on an uninhabited island, near other uninhabited islands. The majority of deaths came from tsunamis which occurred after.

[@garymcaleer6112]

400,000 years old? The numbers people throw out there when they don't know jack about history.

[@citisoccer]

6:55- "...as the electrical grid succumbed to the atmospheric changes." Lol I wonder what the quality level of the 1902 Martinique "electrical grid" actually was. I guess it got too dark for the torch bearers to walk around and find the places they're suppose to light up? I'm sorry, but even 1902 people knew wtf devastation volcanoes caused and that monster gave them every warning possible. Darwin at work.

[@EricWoody-s9d]

Call me crazy...but if I see a mountain breathing fire....think I'm gonna move over yonder. Unless it spits out some fire demons. There's nothing I wanna see as my face melts...but that's just me.

[@enasniec-neicsnoc9591]

Mt. Pelee: Y'all have had more than 200 years to move yo shit. Long enough. Government: But the election! Mt. Pelee: Bet, lemme put in my vote. *Erupts* If the mountain had a mind, I guess it voted against all the candidates. Including every human who could've been a candidate.

[@mariosgameplay8373]

How come you upload on a Thursday?

[@G60syncro]

I've been there and it's a truly beautiful island wih equally beautiful inhabitants. There's rich history and a culinary culture that's worth the trip!

[@danielle3064]

Thank you for not being Eurocentric and for focusing on the indigenous people first. It's refreshing

[@eaglescout1984]

"Pas de soucis" Hmm, let me Google Translate that. "Merde" Got that one, no translation needed.

[@sifridbassoon]

in 1902, knowledge of pyroclastic flows was not commonly understood. There were several river valleys between Pelee and St. Pierre. Most people at the time thought that a volcano's danger came from lava flows, so everyone figured that any lava flow would get diverted by the river valleys, so it was not totally irresponsible to keep the population in the city. In fact many of the people in villages on the slopes of Pelee moved into St. Pierre, thinking the city would be safer. One of the stories about the eruption says that giant centipedes and venomous fer-de-lance snakes left the forests and invaded the city. The feral cats make quick work of them.

[@Shinzon23]

Hey, I remember this! this inspired the power Guns from david drakes "hammers slammers", where at least it's explained in universe in the books that the power guns work off a mechanism first discovered at this eruption!

[@bok..]

You should do the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster.

[@admiral_franz_von_hipper5436]

Wait, it is Thursday

[@straxacore]

This doesn't seem sudden. It looks like they all had plenty of time to run. But I'm not sure if average people back then had any working knowledge of volcanos or how buggered on a tiny island if it went off.

[@Operngeist1]

many actually wanted to leave but were told to remain. It was close to an election so the governor needed people to stay in the city

[@fire.smok3]

This event was mentioned in a Nationak Geographic article I was reading about Carribean Islands, they even said how one of the few survivors was a prisoner who was being kept in an underground cell at the time. Crazy

[@TheWhitefisher]

is it possible to make the overall balance louder? I listen on a laptop and I have an air conditioner nearby and I can barely hear you without headphones =(

[@ethribin4188]

Basically the carrabian's pompeii.

[@LucasL512]

Started watching the video within a minute of it being uploaded xD

[@ivystopia]

Thanks for the video content. Audio could use some more compression on the vocals. Seems quiet.

[@Chronically_JBoo]

Can I just thank you for keeping the videos at a length I can enjoy and keep my attention. RIP 30,000

[@simoneahrens1974]

What a heartbreaking disaster... I hope today we know the warning signs a bit better and have a chance to react! Very impressive in its violence...

[@radioactivepotato2068]

The early footage reminds me of an old Yuri Norstein and Francheska Yarbusova movie. It's just beautiful.

[@PrayWorkPlay]

Learned about this tragedy in school yeaaarrrrssss ago and was just on the island earlier this year! I totally forgot that Mt. Pelee is in Martinique, it would have been interesting to visit the actual area.

[@simplemotions3105]

Jason Breshears from archaix brought me here