August 21, 1871 Earthquake: St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, US Territories
An earthquake struck St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, US Territories on August 21, 1871.
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
- August 21, 1871
- Place
- St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, US Territories
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 18.350° N, 64.900° W
- Country
- US Territories
The toll
- Deaths
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 100
- Houses damaged
- 100
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.
Reference #1908:
August 21, 1871. Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, several deaths and nearly 100 destroyed houses,
Reference #1055:
August 21, 1871. West Indies, St. Thomas, intensity III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed
towns and devastated districts.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- November 18, 1867, Virgin Islands, US Territories
- September 1871, Tortola Island, British Virgin Islands
- March 17, 1868, San Juan, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, US Territories
- March 11, 1874, Virgin Islands, US Territories
- August 2, 1837, Virgin Islands, US Territories
- December 1, 1867, Virgin Islands, 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 10, 1787, Ponce,san Juan, Puerto Rico, US Territories
- May 2, 2020, Ponce, Puerto Rico, US Territories
More
Significant earthquakes of 1871The 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 9791.