November 21, 2004 Tsunami: Basse-Terre, Les Saintes, Guadeloupe

Name: November 21, 2004 Tsunami: Basse-Terre, Les Saintes, Guadeloupe
Start: 2004-11-21
Location: Basse-Terre, Les Saintes, Guadeloupe

November 21, 2004 · 2 m · 1 death · $155 million · Definite tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake began at Basse-Terre, Les Saintes, Guadeloupe on November 21, 2004 at 11:41:07 UTC. The water rose as high as 2 meters. Its effects were recorded at 9 places in at least 2 countries. It killed 1 person, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.

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

Tsunami warnings in force

The tsunami

Date: November 21, 2004, 11:41:07 UTC
Source: Basse-Terre, Les Saintes, Guadeloupe
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 6.3, 14 km deep
Maximum water height: 2 m (6.6 ft)
Runups recorded: 9
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Definite tsunami
Source location: 15.679° N, 61.706° W

The toll

Deaths: 1 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Injuries: 12 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Damage: $155 million with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Houses destroyed: Many (101 to 1,000) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it

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 occurred in the Dominica Passage, Lesser Antilles, an area between the island countries of Guadeloupe and Dominica. Most of the earthquake effects occurred in Guadeloupe. Zahibo et al. (Reference #1697) did field surveys in the area and discovered that the earthquake generated a weak tsunami with maximum amplitudes of +70 and -80 cm in neighboring islands. (reference #1697)

Results from field surveys indicate that the maximum run-up height was about 2 m on the beaches. Most of the run-up height values were confirmed by inhabitants, who described typical tsunami movements. (reference #5287)

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
Petites Anse	Guadeloupe	20			Eyewitness observation of water height
Anse Pajot doubtful	Guadeloupe	21	0.5		Runup height, post-tsunami survey
Anse DE Muriers	Guadeloupe	22			Eyewitness observation of water height
Grande Anse Beach	Guadeloupe	22	0.7		Runup height, post-tsunami survey
Anse Rodrigue	Guadeloupe	24	2	42	Eyewitness observation of water height
Baie du Marigot	Guadeloupe	25		15	Eyewitness observation of water height
Portsmouth	Dominica	30			Eyewitness observation of water height
Trois-Rivieres Village	Guadeloupe	33			Eyewitness observation of water height
Basse-Terre Island	Guadeloupe	36			Eyewitness observation of water height

Every tsunami in 2004 The 2000s Tsunamis of Guadeloupe The earthquake This day in weather history Alerts 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 2693.