October 12, 1788 Earthquake: Saint Lucia
An earthquake struck Saint Lucia on October 12, 1788. It killed 900 people.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- October 12, 1788
- Place
- Saint Lucia
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 14.000° N, 61.000° W
- Country
- Saint Lucia
The toll
- Deaths
- 900
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
October 12, 1788, West Indies, St Lucia, 900 lives lost. (reference #1055)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- August 11, 1831, Barbados, Saint Vincent, Dominica, Antigua
- January 11, 1839, Fort-De-France, St Pierre, Castries, Martinique
- November 29, 2007, Martinique
- February 16, 1906, Castries, Saint Lucia
- September 1702, Martinique
- November 7, 1727, Martinique
- April 24, 1767, Martinique & Barbados
- November 30, 1824, Saint Pierre, Martinique
- November 30, 1827, Martinique
- August 25, 1766, Saint-Pierre, Martinique
- November 30, 1823, Saint Pierre Harbor, Martinique
- August 30, 1844, Kingstown, Saint Vincent, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- December 3, 1906, Martinique
- April 1765, Dominica
- December 3, 1831, Trinidad & St. Christopher, Trinidad and Tobago
More
Significant earthquakes of 1788The 1700sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 1500.