People who decided to evacuate on the first day of the eruption had a chance to survive. On that day, crumbs of pyroclastic material fell on Pompeii with temperatures between 120 and 140 °C. Early in the morning of the second day, the gray ash cloud began to collapse. Two large waves struck and destroyed Pompeii. Herculaneum and its entire population ceased to exist. The temperatures of the waves of pyroclastic material already exceeded 200 °C, giving no one the slightest chance of survival.
