December 25, 1969 Earthquake: Grand Bourg, Guadeloupe
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Grand Bourg, Guadeloupe on December 25, 1969 at 21:32:27 UTC, 7 km below the surface. 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
- December 25, 1969
- Time
- 21:32:27 UTC
- Place
- Grand Bourg, Guadeloupe
- Magnitude
- 7.2 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 7 km (4 mi)
- Intensity
- VI, strong shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 15.800° N, 59.700° W
- Country
- Guadeloupe
- Region
- Caribbean
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 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.
December 25, 1969, 21:32:27.3 UTC, 15.8 N, 59.7 W, magnitude 7.2, depth 7 km, minor damage in the region. Slight tsunami recorded. (reference #45)
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake was felt on Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Martinique, St. Vincent, Antigua, and Barbdos. Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (1969) cites the epicenter as east of Grand Bourg, Guadeloupe.
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #45 U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1928-1986). United States Earthquakes, Annual publication, published 1928-1986. vol.s for 1928-1965 issued by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey; volumes for 1966-1969 issued by the National Earthquake Information Center; volume for 1970 issued by the National Geophysical Data Center; volumes for 1971-1972 issued by the National Geophysical And Solar-Terrestrial Data Center; volumes for 1973-1980 published jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey; volumes for 1981-1986 published by the U.S. Geological Survey. [on shelf]
- #506 Von Hake, C.A., and W.K. Cloud (1971). Miscellaneous Activities, United States Earthquakes, 1969, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Rockville, MD, p. 52-53.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1969The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1969Recent 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 4511. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event iscgem801426, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.