|
 |
| Volume No. 1 Issue No. 31 - Friday, November 15, 2002 |
One Hundred Years in History
 by Thomson Fontaine
Just over one hundred years ago, the La Soufriere volcano in St. Vincent violently erupted spewing lava and ash hundreds of feet into the air.
The date was May 7, 1902 just two days before the equally violent and more devastating eruption of Mount. Pelee in Martinique.
When rescuers arrrived at the scene of the devastation, they met over 2 500 persons dead including the entire Native settlement of mainly Carib Indians. The demise of the Caribs on St. Vincent meant that Dominica remained the only Caribbean Island to retain
the native people. Oddly enough, Carib legend had predicted the spectacular demise of the Natives.
The following day May 8, Mount Pelee vented its fury wiping out an entire town of
over 30 000 people. The lone survivor a convicted criminal who was serving time in an underground cell of the city's prison.
Today, there remains a constant threat of eruption in the Caribbean. The last eruption was in Montserrat about nine years ago, which reduced the population (through migration) by more than two-thirds. Thanks to advanced warnings, only about
a dozen people died.
There are approximately seven active volcanoes on Dominica, with scientists predicting an eminent eruption within the next several years.
|
 | | |
Search our website: enter one or more keywords
and press "go"
|
|
|
|
