After weeks of increasing volcanic activity, a superheated pyroclastic density current swept down Mount Pelée and through Saint-Pierre at around 8 am, killing nearly all of the city's roughly 28,000 inhabitants within minutes.
Elections scheduled days later had discouraged officials from ordering evacuation, and a commission had declared the city safe. Only a handful of people survived, including a prisoner held in a thick-walled cell.
The event gave volcanology the term "Peléan eruption" and established pyroclastic flows as the most lethal volcanic hazard.
Why this event still matters
Historical incidents shape the rules that protect people today — building codes, evacuation policy, warning systems and inspection regimes almost always trace back to a specific disaster. Studying Mount Pelée Eruption alongside current events is how preparedness improves.
See what is happening right now on the live world incident map, browse every volcanic eruptions we track on the Volcanic Eruption tracker, or follow live incidents in France.