A tsunami could take place in the Caribbean, says regional expert

The islands affected by the 1867 Virgin Islands tsunami

Meteorologist George Brathwaite (closest to camera)
and team at the VCBIA.  Photo: Norman 'Gus' Thomas

by Norman 'Gus' Thomas
Caribbean Net News Special Regional Correspondent

Tuesday, December 28, 2004

ST. JOHN'S, Antigua: A senior meteorologist at Antigua’s Vere Cornwall Bird International Airport (VCBIA) says the chances of a tsunami similar to those that ravaged Asian coastlines affecting the Caribbean are possible but rare.

Over the Christmas weekend southern Asian coastlines were devastated by earthquake-generated tsunamis that obliterated seaside towns, killing more than 22,000 people in 10 countries, and officials indicated Monday that the death toll could climb far higher.

Speaking to Caribbean Net News via the telephone, George Brathwaite said that a lot of people suppose that a tsunami and a tidal wave is one and the same, "They are not," he said, as he clarified that tidal waves are just huge waves and are not caused by underwater earthquakes or volcanoes.

According to Brathwaite, even though over 80 percent of tsunamis occur in the Pacific, they can also threaten the coastline of other countries in the Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean Sea and even the Atlantic Ocean.

The Antiguan weatherman pointed out that the "nature animal” called tsunami, is caused by underwater volcanoes such as “Kick'm Jenny" just off the Caribbean island of Grenada.

In fact, George pointed out that, at 5:05 pm on the 18th of November 1867, the water in the ocean at St. Georges, dropped some five feet resulting in the exposure of the front of the lagoon, then suddenly and without warning the water in the St. George’s harbour rose some 4 feet above normal level and rushed to the head of the Carenage, seriously flooding the area. This was a result of what is called the Virgin Islands Tsunami which had occurred earlier that same day.

Caribbean Net News also learnt that, on the same afternoon in 1867, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake had occurred in the Anegada trough, located between the US Virgin Islands of St. Croix, and St. Thomas. The earthquake actually consisted of two shocks, separated by ten minutes. These shocks generated two tsunami waves that were recorded at several island locations across the eastern Caribbean region, most notably on the Islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix.

US Virgin Islands officials told Caribbean Net News on Monday that the first tsunami wave struck the town of Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas approximately 10 minutes after the first shock, and the second wave approximately 10 minutes after the second shock. Both waves struck the harbour at Charlotte Amalie, first as a large recession of water, followed by a bore, which eyewitness accounts describe as a 15 to 20 foot wall of water.

At the southern point of Water Island, located approximately 2-1/2 miles from Charlotte Amalie, the bore was reportedly 39 feet high. The waves destroyed many small boats anchored in the harbour, levelled the town's iron wharf, and either flooded out or destroyed all buildings located along the waterfront area. The waves also damaged a United States Navy ship De Soto that happened to be anchored in the harbour at the time of the event. The tsunami produced an estimated 8 feet of runup at Charlotte Amalie, and a maximum 80 yards inland inundation.

Fredriksted St. Croix was struck by two large tsunami waves, each approximately 25 feet high, according to eyewitness accounts. These waves caused severe damage along the waterfront, washing several wooden houses and other structures a considerable distance inland. The waves destroyed many of the smaller boats anchored in the harbour, and beached a large United States Navy ship, the Monongahela.

A total of five people died as a result of the tsunami. Eyewitness accounts from Frederiksted indicate that the water withdrew from the harbour almost immediately after the earthquake, which suggests that the first wave to strike here might have been a local tsunami produced by a submarine landslide.

Reports from Christiansted, St. Croix, indicate that the tsunami inundated an area up to 100 yards inland. The greatest damage there occurred at Gallows Bay, where the waves destroyed 20 houses and beached many boats.

The 1867 Virgin Island tsunami was recorded at several other islands in the eastern Caribbean region.

The tsunami produced 4 to 5 feet of runup, and washed away most of the smaller buildings on the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. In St. John's, the present capital, on the Island of Antigua, the tsunami produced a 4 to 6 foot runup.

At St. Rose on the island of Guadeloupe, the tsunami reportedly struck as a 60 foot wave, flooding houses and damaging boats. This extreme value however, is most likely an exaggeration, as it exceeds the maximum wave heights reported at the locations closest to the earthquake's epicenter, and the tsunami waves reported at nearby Basse-Terre were only 6 feet high.

At Bequia Island the tsunami washed in as a 6 foot wave. In St. George's, the capital of Grenada, 5 foot tsunami waves damaged boats and buildings. The tsunami was also observed at several locations on the eastern shore of Puerto Rico. At all the locations the tsunami was marked by an initial recession of water from the shore.

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