Tsunamis in Puerto Rico

In a total of 3 tidal waves classified as a tsunami since 1867 a total of 140 people died in Puerto Rico. Tsunamis therefore occur only rarely here.

The strongest tidal wave registered in Puerto Rico so far reached a height of 6.1 meters. At this Tsunami on 11/18/1867 no losses of human lifes have been registered.

The biggest impact in terms of lifes, injuries, destroyed homes and economy had been a tsunami on 10/11/1918. A tidal wave of up to 6 meters killed 140 humans and destroyed vast areas.

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The marked positions on the map represent the most effected regions within the past 160 years.

Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes or other seismic eruptions on ground of an oceans and can cause massive tidal waves, which run with enormous force on land, causing great devastation. Especially in regions with only few tsunamis, the damage is often drastic, as the population does not expect tsunamis and thus hardly takes any protective measures. Even relatively small flood waves can lead to high losses and financial damage.

The largest tsunamis in Puerto Rico since 1867

Date	Cause	max wave height	Deaths
10/11/1918	Earthquake, landslide in Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico: Mona Passage) with a magnitude of 7.3. The tsunami also reached Virgin Islands, .	6 m	140
03/17/1868	Earthquake on the Virgin Islands (Virgin Islands)	1.5 m	0
11/18/1867	Earthquake on the Virgin Islands (Virgin Islands) with a magnitude of 7.5. The tsunami caused damages in 9 further countries. A total of 24 humans died.	6.1 m	0

These statistics are based on datas from the National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): Global Historical Tsunami Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Several data have been summarized and translated.