August 2, 1837 Tsunami: Virgin Islands, US Territories
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Virgin Islands, US Territories on August 2, 1837. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.
Where the waves reached
The source (white) and every runup with a place, colored by the water height recorded there. A ring is a runup NCEI marks doubtful.
- Under 1 m
- 1 to 3 m
- 3 to 10 m
- 10 to 30 m
- 30 m and more
- Height not recorded
The tsunami
- Date
- August 2, 1837
- Source
- Virgin Islands, US Territories
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Earthquake
- The earthquake
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Erroneous entry
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
This event has an alternate date of July 26, 1837. A hurricane occurred July 26 to August 3, 1837, which caused 141 deaths at St. Thomas and Puerto Rico, and 57 at Martinique. Mallet (Reference #497) reported several shocks accompanied by a "terrible raz-de-maree [tsunami] during a dreadful hurricane." These shocks also occurred in Puerto Rico (Reference #1189). Older reports often combine a hurricane and earthquake together, as storm waves can cause the earth to shake. This event has been given a validity zero, as it was almost certainly a storm surge.
Every runup
Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.
| Where | Country | Km from source | Water height, m | Inland, m | Measured by | First wave, UTC | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martinique | Martinique | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1837The 1800sTsunamis of US TerritoriesThe earthquakeThis day in weather historyAlerts in force
Sources
Tsunami events and runups 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 tsunami event 704.