March 17, 1868 Earthquake: San Juan, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, US Territories
An earthquake struck San Juan, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, US Territories on March 17, 1868 at 11:37:00 UTC. It caused a tsunami.
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
- March 17, 1868
- Time
- 11:37:00 UTC
- Place
- San Juan, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, US Territories
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 18.100° N, 65.100° W
- Country
- US Territories
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.
Aftershock of the November 11, 1867 event, that occurred about 48 kilometers southwest of the original epicenter, along the north edge of the Anegada Deep (Reid and Taber, 1920). Reid and Taber (1919) note reports from 18 locations in Puerto Rico and says, "The eastern part of Porto Rico suffered most in the earlier earthquake; the western part suffered most in the later earthquakes." Ships in San Juan Harbor (Puerto Rico) felt the shock, and small waves and flooding occurred in several areas.
Aftershock of November 18, 1867, earthquake. Strong shock felt all over Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, VII-VIII. Damage to many buildings in the Capital (San Juan) . Major aftershock of earthquake of November 18, 1867 (reference #1189)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- November 18, 1867, Virgin Islands, US Territories
- January 7, 2020, Ponce,san Juan, Puerto Rico, US Territories
- March 11, 1874, Virgin Islands, US Territories
- August 21, 1871, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, US Territories
- September 1871, Tortola Island, British Virgin Islands
- August 2, 1837, Virgin Islands, US Territories
- December 1, 1867, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, US Territories
- May 10, 1787, Ponce,san Juan, Puerto Rico, US Territories
- 1717, Arecibo, Puerto Rico, US Territories
- May 2, 1787, Arecibo,mayaguez,san Juan,caguas, Puerto Rico, US Territories
- December 9, 1875, Arecibo, Puerto Rico, US Territories
- May 2, 2020, Ponce, Puerto Rico, US Territories
- April 16, 1844, San Juan, St Thomas, Puerto Rico, US Territories
More
Significant earthquakes of 1868The 1800sRecent 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 6155.