September 23, 1887 Earthquake: Mole Saint Nicolas, Haiti
An earthquake struck Mole Saint Nicolas, Haiti on September 23, 1887 at 12:00 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
- September 23, 1887
- Time
- 12:00 UTC
- Place
- Mole Saint Nicolas, Haiti
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 19.700° N, 74.400° W
- Country
- Haiti
The toll
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000) with its tsunami and other effects
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.
The earthquake apparantly originated in the Bartlett Trough southwest of Mole St.-Nicolas. It was strongly felt throughout Haiti, Bahama Islands, Jamaica, and Cuba. The disaster struck Mole St.-Nicolas the heaviest. The city was in ruins from collapse of nearly all the houses.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- August 14, 2021, Haiti
- June 3, 1770, Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
- June 12, 1766, Santiago DE Cuba
- October 7, 2018, Port-Dex-Paix, Haiti
- February 3, 1932, Santiago DE Cuba
- October 28, 1952, Anse-A-Veau, Haiti
- June 6, 2023, Haiti
- March 2, 1994, Saint-Louis du Nord, Haiti
- January 24, 2022, Nippes, Haiti
- January 25, 1953, Haiti
- February 11, 1678, Santiago DE Cuba
- 1682, Santiago DE Cuba
- September 18, 1826, Santiago DE Cuba
- July 17, 1852, Santiago DE Cuba
- April 17, 1860, Petit Trou Nippes, Haiti
More
Significant earthquakes of 1887The 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 2373.