[csvset]

I visited Pompei on a tour. Looked down inside Mt. Vesuvius too. They probably had no idea what hit them. Boom.

[SunkenCiv]

That's probably true.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Good animation: A Day in Pompeii. If this is accurate, they knew in advance, but probably didn't know they were going to die. But they all didn't die instantly. What a horrible way to go.

[hinckley buzzard]

Many had fled Pompeii before the eruption, as eruptions were not unknown to the inhabitants, and there were rumblings and such. When the flow of water from the main aqueduct was interrupted due to geologic movements in the earth, many heeded the sign and left town.