La Soufrière’s 1902 eruption devastated Saint Vincent and killed about 1,600 people.
La Soufrière is an active stratovolcano on Saint Vincent in the eastern Caribbean. Its name comes from the French word for sulfur. The volcano’s summit contains a crater and a crater lake, and eruptions can generate ashfall, pyroclastic flows, lahars, and debris avalanches.
The 1902 eruption began in May and destroyed communities around the northern part of the island. The disaster occurred during the same broad period of intense volcanic activity as the catastrophic eruption of Mount Pelée on Martinique, but the two are separate volcanoes on separate islands.
La Soufrière erupted again in 1979 and experienced a major explosive eruption in 2020–2021. The modern eruption prompted a large evacuation, demonstrating that the volcano remains a serious hazard for Saint Vincent.