1867 Virgin Islands earthquake and tsunami

The earthquake struck at 14:45 local time on 18 November in the Anegada Passage, about 20 km southwest of Saint Thomas in the Danish West Indies, with Rossi-Forel IX shaking felt in the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The United States Geological Survey records considerable loss of life and damage at several places in the northeast Caribbean. At Road Town waves of 1.2 to 1.5 m swept away much of the low-lying towns. The rupture is read as a manifestation of the complex tectonic deformation of the Anegada Passage, which cuts across the Antilles island arc.

Date and time (UTC)
1867-11-18T18:45
Highest recorded water height (m)
15.2
Cause, as the catalogue records it
earthquake
Magnitude of the causing earthquake
7.3
NCEI event page
www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/tsunami/event-more-info/966

Category: Disasters & Incidents

Tags: earthquake, caribbean, anegada passage, virgin islands

Coordinates: 18.2, -65

Part of Tsunamis with waves of 15 metres or more from 1800 to 1899

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