1902 Eruption of Mount Pelée: The City Vaporized in 2 Minutes

May 8, 1902. Saint-Pierre, Martinique's thriving port city, woke to a normal day.

30,000 people. Theater tickets sold out. Election day.

At 8:02 AM, Mount Pelée unleashed a 900°C pyroclastic surge.

The "fiery cloud" incinerated the city in 120 seconds flat.

One survivor: Prisoner Ludger Sylbaris, protected in a dungeon cell.

Found 2 days later, badly burned but alive.

HistMuse reveals how ignored warnings + politics = worst volcano disaster of the 20th century.