March 16, 1985 Earthquake: Guadeloupe
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Guadeloupe on March 16, 1985 at 14:54:00 UTC, 8 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
- March 16, 1985
- Time
- 14:54:00 UTC
- Place
- Guadeloupe
- Magnitude
- 6.3 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 8 km (5 mi)
- Intensity
- 6 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 17.020° N, 62.280° W
- Country
- Guadeloupe
The toll
- Injuries
- 6
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million); Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) 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.
Six people injured and damage (VI) on Guadeloupe. Minor damage on Monteserrat. Also felt on Antigua, St. Kitts and Puerto Rico. Several cm. local tsunami recorded at Bosse Terre, Guadeloupe. (reference #1053)
Montserrat (V-VI), Nevis (V-VI), Guadeloupe (VI), Four slightly wounded in Pointe-a-Pitre. Damage to buildings. Martinique (II), Felt on Dominica, Antigua, and St Kitts. This event triggered a landslide in Redonda. (reference #249)
At Guadeloupe, a moderate earthquake injured 6 people. Feuillard (1985) reported that four of the injuries occurred at Point-a-Pitre. The earthquake was felt at Nevis and Montserrat; Martinique, Dominica, St. Kitts, Antigua, and Puerto Rico. Lynch and Shepherd (1995) said this event triggered a landslide at Redonda.
1985 Mar 16, 14:54:03.34, mb = 5.8; Ms= 6.2 17.07 N - 62.41 W. The epicenter of this earthquake is located east of Redonda Island, where landslides occurred, north of Montserrat. The main earthquake was recorded on the neighboring islands with the following MSK intensities: Nevis (VI); Saint Kitts (V); Montserrat (VI); Antigua (V); Guadeloupe (V or VI) (Feuillard, 1985). (reference #124)
The 1985 earthquake was felt with an intensity of VI in Nevis and Montserrat, V in St. Kitts, IV‐V in Guadeloupe, IV in St. Barthelemy, III in St. Martin, and II in Martinique [Feuillard, 1985]. The damage was greater in Pointe‐à‐Pitre (intensity VI), probably because of a local site effect in swampy areas. The focal mechanism and the aftershock distribution are compatible with a rupture of a NW‐SE striking strike‐slip fault plane near Redonda [Girardin et al., 1991]. (reference #13355)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- February 8, 1843, Pointe-A-Pitre, Guadeloupe
- April 29, 1897, Guadeloupe, Antigua, St Kitts
- November 21, 2004, Basse-Terre, Les Saintes, Guadeloupe
- April 16, 1690, Antigua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda
- March 19, 1802, Antigua Island & St. Christopher, Antigua and Barbuda
- April 25, 1897, Montserrat
- September 13, 1824, Basse Terre, Guadeloupe
- October 8, 1974, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts
- May 16, 1851, Pointe-A-Pitre, Guadeloupe
- February 14, 2005, Guadeloupe
More
Significant earthquakes of 1985The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1985Recent 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 5059.