1867 Virgin Islands earthquake and tsunami

1867 Virgin Islands earthquake
Map of earthquakes around Puerto Rico. The epicenter of the 1867 earthquake is marked in a star located on the right.
1867 Virgin Islands earthquake and tsunami is located in Middle America
1867 Virgin Islands earthquake and tsunami
UTC time1867-11-18 18:45:00
 1868-03-17 11:15:00
USGS-ANSSComCat
 ComCat
Local date18 November 1867
Local time14:45
Magnitude7.5 Ms
Epicenter18°12′N 65°00′W / 18.2°N 65.0°W / 18.2; -65.0
Areas affectedGreater Antilles & Lesser Antilles
Total damageExtensive
Max. intensityRFS IX (Devastating tremor)
Tsunami18.3 m (60 ft)
LandslidesPossible
Aftershocks6.5 Mh[1]
Casualties>50–"hundreds" dead

The 1867 Virgin Islands earthquake and tsunami occurred on November 18, at 14.45 in the Anegada Passage about 20 km southwest of Saint Thomas, Danish West Indies (now U.S. Virgin Islands). The Ms  7.5 earthquake came just 20 days after the devastating San Narciso Hurricane in the same region. Tsunamis from this earthquake were some of the highest ever recorded in the Lesser Antilles. Wave heights exceeded 10 m (33 ft) in some islands in the Lesser Antilles. The earthquake and tsunami resulted in no more than 50 fatalities,[2] although hundreds of casualties were reported.[3]

  1. ^ "M 6.5 - Virgin Islands Region". United States Geological Survey-Advanced National Seismic System. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  2. ^ Karen Fay O’loughlin; James F. Lander (2003). Caribbean Tsunamis: A 500-Year History from 1498-1998. Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research. Springer, Dordrecht. p. 263. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-0321-5. ISBN 978-94-017-0321-5.
  3. ^ Hearne, M. E; Grindlay, N. R.; Mann, P. (2003). Landslide Deposits, Cookie Bites, and Crescentic Fracturing Along the Northern Puerto Rico-Virgin Islands Margin: Implications for Potential Tsunamigenesis. Fall Meeting 2003. American Geophysical Union. Bibcode:2003AGUFMOS22A1148H.

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