Major natural hazards in Martinique

Erasmus RIZE 2022

Major natural hazards in Martinique

2007

1755

Hurricane Dean

The Lisbon Tsunami

1902

Eruption of the Mount Pelée

2007

Click on images to learn more

Big earthquake

2007 earthquake

The 2007 Martinique earthquake took place on November 29 2007 at 15:00:19 local time in the Windward Islands region, underneath the Martinique Passage. It was a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that occurred 18 km (11 mi) west northwest from Basse-Pointe, Martinique. This earthquake was felt strongly in Martinique, Dominica, St. Lucia, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Antigua, St Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. In the surrounding region, the South American Plate is subducting beneath the Caribbean Plate. This earthquake occurred within the South America Plate and was in response to stresses generated by the slow distortion of the plate. It caused severe damages to buildings, but only one collapsed in Fort-deFrance, and 1 inhabitant died. But it was a terrible trauma for all the people living it. After that earthquake, one of Lycée Frantz Fanon building had to be destroyed and replaced by modular blocks.

Explanations https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/20071129.pdf

The transoceanic 1755 Lisbon tsunami in Martinique

On 1 November 1755, a major earthquake of estimated Mw=8.5/9.0 destroyed Lisbon (Portugal) and was felt in the whole of western Europe. It generated a huge transoceanic tsunami that ravaged the coasts of Morocco, Portugal and Spain. Local extreme run-up heights were reported in some places such as Cape St Vincent (Portugal). Great waves were reported in the Madeira Islands, the Azores and as far as the Antilles (Caribbean Islands). It hitted Martinique 7 hours after the Lisbon earthquake, crossing the Atlantic Ocean at an average speed of 800km/h. A letter read by Duhamel (1755) indicates that the sea reached about 9 m (30 ft, in the original) above its usual level four times. It's probably a mistake and actual researchers give an estimation of 3m (10 ft) waves. The phenomenon was observed from La Trinite´ Bay to the Franc¸ois Cul-de-sac. We don't know a lot about the consequences and victims, except that Trinité town was completely submerged.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226531216

1902 : Mount Pelée eruption

The 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée was a volcanic eruption on the island of Martinique in the Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc of the eastern Caribbean, which was one of the deadliest eruptions in recorded history. Eruptive activity began on 23 April as a series of phreatic explosions from the summit of Mount Pelée. Mount Pelée remained relatively quiet until the afternoon of 5 May when a mudflow swept down a river on the southwest flank of the volcano, destroying a sugar mill. The massive flow buried about 150 people and generated a series of three tsunamis as it hit the sea. On 8 May, a ground-hugging cloud of incandescent lava particles suspended by searing turbulent gases moved at hurricane speed down the southwest flank of the volcano, reaching Saint-Pierre at 8:02 a.m. Escape from the city was virtually impossible. Almost everyone within the city proper—about 28,000 people—died, burned or buried by falling masonry. The hot ash ignited a firestorm, fueled by smashed buildings and countless casks of rum. Only two people survived within the city

Why volcanoes in Caribbean ? >

http://atlas-caraibe.certic.unicaen.fr/en/

Hurricane Dean (2007)

More about hurricanes >

http://atlas-caraibe.certic.unicaen.fr/en/page-208.html

Hurricane Dean was the strongest tropical cyclone of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season. A Cape Verde hurricane that formed on August 13, 2007, Dean took a west-northwest path from the eastern Atlantic Ocean through the Saint Lucia Channel and into the Caribbean. It strengthened into a major hurricane, reaching Category 5 status on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. The hurricane's intense winds, waves, rains and storm surge were responsible for at least 45 deaths across ten countries and caused estimated damages of US$1.66 billion. The torrential rainfall, caused flooding throughout the island, with the town of Rivière-Pilote flooding completely. The majority of Martinique's population were left without electricity, water, telephone, or food, and 600 Martiniquans were left homeless. The storm destroyed Martinique's entire banana crop, and 70% of the island's sugar cane plantations. The damage to these two agricultural sectors accounted for the majority of the island's €400 million damage.