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Puerto Rico Natural Hazards: Tsunamis | Peligros naturales de Puerto Rico: Maremotos Active

By Natural Hazards Mission Area June 22, 2022

Tsunami probability in the Caribbean Region

Probabilidad de maremotos en la región del Caribe

Read report | Lea el reporte

Tsunamis in Puerto Rico

Maremotos en Puerto Rico

Learn more | Obtenga más información

Bathymetry and ancillary data collected in the Puerto Rico Trench

Batimetría y datos auxiliares recolectados en la Fosa de Puerto Rico

Read report | Lea el reporte

Tsunamis are long waves formed from a sudden displacement of the sea floor due to a fault rupture, landslide, or volcanic activity. Given that Puerto Rico lies above a subduction zone in the Caribbean Sea, it is especially susceptible to large earthquakes and tsunamis. The greatest tsunami ever recorded in Puerto Rico occurred from an earthquake off the Mona Passage in 1918. The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and the USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program are studying the risks of tsunamis in Puerto Rico and have developed detailed maps of the Caribbean fault traces. On this page, explore all tsunami hazard publications, data releases, and news for Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico Hazards | Los peligros de Puerto Rico

Los maremotos son olas largas formadas por un desplazamiento repentino del suelo marino debido a la ruptura de una falla, un deslizamiento de tierra o actividad volcánica. Dado que Puerto Rico reside sobre una zona de subducción en el Mar Caribe, es especialmente susceptible a terremotos y maremotos. El maremoto más grande que se registró en Puerto Rico se produjo debido a un terremoto en el Canal de la Mona en 1918. El Programa sobre los Peligros de los Terremotos del USGS y el Programa de Recursos y Peligros Costeros y Marinos del USGS estudian los riesgos de los maremotos en Puerto Rico y desarrolló mapas detallados de la localización de las fallas del Caribe. Explore las publicaciones, datos y noticias sobre los peligros de maremotos en Puerto Rico en esta página.    
 

Sea Floor Mapping | Mapa del suelo marino 

Colorful image showing the geomorphology of the Puerto Rico Trench and surrounding terrain
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.
Figure 1: Morphology and color-shaded bathymetry of the northeastern Caribbean region. Learn more: https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs141-00/fs141-00.pdf  

Figura 1: Morfología y barimetría con sombreados de color de la región nororiental del Caribe. Obtenga más información: https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs141-00/fs141-00.pdf 

North of Puerto Rico is the Puerto Rico Trench, the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean. This region poses a significant seismic and tsunami risk to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Detailed seafloor mapping can provide a critical perspective for hazard assessment about the origin of the bathymetry, its gravity and development. Learn more about the Puerto Rico Trench. 

En el norte de Puerto Rico está la Fosa de Puerto Rico, la parte más profunda del Océano Atlántico. Esta región presenta un riesgo sísmico y de tsunamis significativo para Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Los mapas detallados del fondo marino pueden proporcionar una perspectiva crítica para la evaluación de amenazas sobre el origen de la batimetría, su gravedad y desarrollo. Conozca más sobre la Fosa de Puerto Rico.

 

International Tsunami Information Center - Caribbean Office Collaboration | La colaboración con el Centro Internacional de Información sobre Tsunamis - Oficina del Caribe (ITIC-CAR, por sus siglas en inglés) 

The International Tsunami Information Center - Caribbean Office (ITIC-CAR) based out of University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) receives data from seismic monitoring stations managed by the USGS to issue tsunami warnings. USGS also works with NOAA on tsunami evacuation, source characterization, and other tasks, as needed. For official tsunami warnings and information visit the International Tsunami Information Center - Caribbean Office (ITIC-CAR). 

El Centro Internacional de Información sobre Tsunamis - Oficina del Caribe (ITIC-CAR, por sus siglas en inglés), localizado en la Universidad de Puerto Rico en Mayagüez (UPRM), recibe datos de las estaciones de vigilancia sísmica, gestionados por el USGS, para emitir alertas de maremotos. El USGS también trabaja con la NOAA en programas de evacuación ante maremotos y la caracterización de sus orígenes. Si desea obtener alertas e información oficial sobre los maremotos, visite el Centro Internacional de Información sobre Tsunamis - Oficina del Caribe (ITIC-CAR, por sus siglas en inglés).  

 

Core Data for Puerto Rico | Muestras de sedimento para Puerto Rio  

Tsunamis that have impacted coastal communities in Puerto Rico could had been originated from landslides and earthquakes at the submerged carbonate platform north of Puerto Rico. The USGS, in collaboration with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, has collected core samples in an effort to establish temporal data from past tsunamigenic landslide and earthquake events to provide a better understanding of historical tsunamis and help assess future risks. Learn more.

Los maremotos que han afectado a las comunidades costeras de Puerto Rico podrían haberse originado por deslizamientos de tierra y terremotos en la plataforma carbonatada sumergida al norte de Puerto Rico. El USGS, en colaboración con la Institución Oceanográfica de Woods Hole, ha recolectado muestras de sedimentos como parte de un esfuerzo que busca establecer una base de datos temporales de pasados deslizamientos de tierra y terremotos tsunamigénicos para proveer un mejor entendimiento de los maremotos históricos ​​y evaluar los riesgos futuros. Obtenga más información.

Map of Caribbean Sea/Atlantic Ocean showing locations of cores taken in the deep waters of the Puerto Rico trench
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.
Figure 2: Location of core samples collected from archived data and the deployment of the research vessel (RV) Seward Johnson on cruise 2008–008–FA (SJ8). Learn more.

Figura 2: Ubicación de muestras de sedimentos recolectadas de datos archivados y el despliegue del buque de investigación Seward Johnson en el crucero 2008–008–FA (SJ8). Obtenga más información.
 

 

Learn more about USGS Puerto Rico hazards research and tools. | Obtenga más información sobre las herramientas e investigaciones del USGS acerca de riesgos en Puerto Rico. 

Science

USGS tsunami research is mainly conducted within the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program. Learn more about the science of tsunamis in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean in the links below.

Ciencias

Las investigaciones sobre tsunamis del USGS son principalmente realizadas dentro del Programa de Riesgos de Terremotos del USGS. Conozca más sobre la ciencia de tsunamis cerca de maremotos en Puerto Rico y el Caribe en los siguientes enlaces.

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Perspective view of the seafloor of the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

Puerto Rico Natural Hazards | Peligros naturales de Puerto Rico

The island of Puerto Rico is subject to numerous threats from natural hazards, including hurricanes, landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, coastal and inland flooding, environmental contaminants, and freshwater scarcity, among others. USGS science can help citizens better prepare for, mitigate, and adapt to these hazards. This website compiles USGS resources available for Puerto Rico to provide...
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Reducing Risk
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Puerto Rico Natural Hazards | Peligros naturales de Puerto Rico

The island of Puerto Rico is subject to numerous threats from natural hazards, including hurricanes, landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, coastal and inland flooding, environmental contaminants, and freshwater scarcity, among others. USGS science can help citizens better prepare for, mitigate, and adapt to these hazards. This website compiles USGS resources available for Puerto Rico to provide...
Learn More
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Image: USGS Rapid Response to Haiti

Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards

Four million U.S. citizens live along the coastlines of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, an earthquake- and tsunami-prone active tectonic plate boundary. A tsunami generated at the subduction zone boundary offshore Puerto Rico could also affect the U.S. Atlantic coast.
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Subduction Zone Science
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Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards

Four million U.S. citizens live along the coastlines of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, an earthquake- and tsunami-prone active tectonic plate boundary. A tsunami generated at the subduction zone boundary offshore Puerto Rico could also affect the U.S. Atlantic coast.
Learn More
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Side view of the uniformly tilted carbonate platform and the narrow shelf north of Puerto Rico

Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards Studies- Models

The Puerto Rico trench exhibits great water depth, extremely low gravity anomaly, and a tilted carbonate platform between (reconstructed) elevations of +1300 m and -4000 m. we suggest that these features are manifestations of large vertical movements of a segment of the Puerto Rico Trench, its forearc, and the island of Puerto Rico that took place 3.3 m.y. ago over a time period as short as 14-40...
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Subduction Zone Science
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Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards Studies- Models

The Puerto Rico trench exhibits great water depth, extremely low gravity anomaly, and a tilted carbonate platform between (reconstructed) elevations of +1300 m and -4000 m. we suggest that these features are manifestations of large vertical movements of a segment of the Puerto Rico Trench, its forearc, and the island of Puerto Rico that took place 3.3 m.y. ago over a time period as short as 14-40...
Learn More
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Perspective view of the edge of the carbonate platform.

Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards Studies-Tsunami Potential

Newly-acquired multibeam bathymetry of the entire Puerto Rico trench reveals numerous retrograde slope failures at various scales at the edge of the carbonate platform north of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The slumped material comprises carbonate blocks, which are cohesive and the edge of the carbonate platform is steeper than most continental slopes, resulting in a higher potential runup...
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Subduction Zone Science
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Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards Studies-Tsunami Potential

Newly-acquired multibeam bathymetry of the entire Puerto Rico trench reveals numerous retrograde slope failures at various scales at the edge of the carbonate platform north of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The slumped material comprises carbonate blocks, which are cohesive and the edge of the carbonate platform is steeper than most continental slopes, resulting in a higher potential runup...
Learn More
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Static stress change models

Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards Studies- Stress Changes and Earthquake Hazard

Strike-slip faults in the forearc region of a subduction zone often present significant seismic hazard because of their proximity to population centers. We explore the interaction between thrust events on the subduction interface and strike-slip faults within the forearc region using 3-D models of static Coulomb stress change.
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Subduction Zone Science
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Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards Studies- Stress Changes and Earthquake Hazard

Strike-slip faults in the forearc region of a subduction zone often present significant seismic hazard because of their proximity to population centers. We explore the interaction between thrust events on the subduction interface and strike-slip faults within the forearc region using 3-D models of static Coulomb stress change.
Learn More
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Shaded relief and combined bathymetry map of Puerto Rico

Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards Studies- Seafloor Map

To help understand the origin of the unusual bathymetry, gravity, and vertical tectonics of the plate boundary and to provide constraints for hazard assessment, the morphology of the entire 770-km-long trench from the Dominican Republic in the west to Anguilla in the east was mapped with multibeam echosounder during three cruises in 2002 and 2003. Parts of the Puerto Rico Trench were previously...
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Subduction Zone Science
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Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards Studies- Seafloor Map

To help understand the origin of the unusual bathymetry, gravity, and vertical tectonics of the plate boundary and to provide constraints for hazard assessment, the morphology of the entire 770-km-long trench from the Dominican Republic in the west to Anguilla in the east was mapped with multibeam echosounder during three cruises in 2002 and 2003. Parts of the Puerto Rico Trench were previously...
Learn More
link
3D computer image shows corrugations beneath the seafloor where tectonic plates move past each other.

Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards Studies

Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are located at an active plate boundary between the North American plate and the northeast corner of the Caribbean plate. Plate movements have caused large magnitude earthquakes and devastating tsunamis. The USGS has an ongoing program to identify and map the faults in this region using various geophysical and geological methods in order to estimate the location...
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Deep Sea Exploration, Mapping and Characterization, Subduction Zone Science
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Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards Studies

Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are located at an active plate boundary between the North American plate and the northeast corner of the Caribbean plate. Plate movements have caused large magnitude earthquakes and devastating tsunamis. The USGS has an ongoing program to identify and map the faults in this region using various geophysical and geological methods in order to estimate the location...
Learn More

Explore media products on USGS tsunami research on Puerto Rico.

Explore los productos multimedia sobre las investigaciones de maremotos del USGS en Puerto Rico. 

Shaded relief and combined bathymetry map of Puerto Rico
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Shaded relief and combined bathymetry map of Puerto Rico

Explore scientific publications by USGS researchers about tsunamis in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. 

Explore publicaciones científicas por los investigadores del USGS acerca de los maremotos en Puerto Rico y el Caribe. 

Filter Total Items: 22

Mysterious tsunami in the Caribbean Sea following the 2010 Haiti earthquake possibly generated by dynamically triggered early aftershocks

Dynamically triggered offshore aftershocks, caused by passing seismic waves from main shocks located on land, are currently not considered in tsunami warnings. The M7.0 2010 Haiti earthquake epicenter was located on land 27 km north of the Caribbean Sea and its focal mechanism was oblique strike-slip. Nevertheless, a tsunami recorded on a Caribbean Deep-Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (D

Authors
Uri S. ten Brink, Yong Wei, Wenyuan Fan, Jose-Luis Granja-Bruna, Nathaniel C. Miller
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Shallower structure and geomorphology of the southern Puerto Rico offshore margin

Oblique convergence between the North American and Caribbean plates along the eastern Greater Antilles island arc has yielded the compressive Muertos margin in the backarc region. The Muertos margin is characterized by an asymmetric thrust belt with overall opposite vergence to the subduction system in the forearc region. Offshore south of Puerto Rico, this thrust belt disappears and is replaced b
Authors
Bruna J.L. Granja, A. Muñoz-Martín, A. Carbó-Gorosabel, Estrada P. Llanes
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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Core data from offshore Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

In 2008, as a collaborative effort between Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the U.S. Geological Survey, 20 giant gravity cores were collected from areas surrounding Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The regions sampled have had many large earthquake and landslide events, some of which are believed to have triggered tsunamis. The objective of this coring cruise, carried out aboard th

Authors
Shannon K. Hoy, Jason D. Chaytor, Uri S. ten Brink
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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, 2020 Puerto Rico Earthquakes

Bathymetric Terrain Model of the Puerto Rico Trench and the Northeastern Caribbean Region for Marine Geological Investigations

Multibeam bathymetry data collected in the Puerto Rico Trench and Northeast Caribbean region are compiled into a seamless bathymetric terrain model for broad-scale geological investigations of the trench system. These data, collected during eight separate surveys between 2002 and 2013, covering almost 180,000 square kilometers are published here in large format map sheet and digital spatial data.

Authors
Brian D. Andrews, Uri S. ten Brink, William W. Danforth, Jason D. Chaytor, J Granja-Bruna, A Carbo-Gorosabel
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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Final report and archive of the swath bathymetry and ancillary data collected in the Puerto Rico Trench region in 2002 and 2003

In 2002 and 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), conducted three exploration cruises that mapped for the first time the morphology of the entire tectonic plate boundary stretching from the Dominican Republic in the west to the Lesser Antilles in the east, a distance of approximately 700 kilometers (430 miles). Obse

Authors
Uri S. ten Brink, William W. Danforth, Christopher F. Polloni
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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, 2020 Puerto Rico Earthquakes

Geomorphic and stratigraphic evidence for an unusual tsunami or storm a few centuries ago at Anegada, British Virgin Islands

Waters from the Atlantic Ocean washed southward across parts of Anegada, east-northeast of Puerto Rico, during a singular event a few centuries ago. The overwash, after crossing a fringing coral reef and 1.5 km of shallow subtidal flats, cut dozens of breaches through sandy beach ridges, deposited a sheet of sand and shell capped with lime mud, and created inland fields of cobbles and boulders. Mo
Authors
Brian F. Atwater, Uri S. ten Brink, Mark Buckley, Robert S. Halley, Bruce E. Jaffe, Alberto M. López-Venegas, Eduard G. Reinhardt, Maritia P. Tuttle, Steve Watt, Yong Wei
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Earthquake Science Center

Inland fields of dispersed cobbles and boulders as evidence for a tsunami on Anegada, British Virgin Islands

Marine overwash from the north a few centuries ago transported hundreds of angular cobbles and boulders tens to hundreds of meters southward from limestone outcrops in the interior of Anegada, 140 km east–northeast of Puerto Rico. We examined two of several cobble and boulder fields as part of an effort to interpret whether the overwash resulted from a tsunami or a storm in a location where both e
Authors
Bruce E. Jaffe, Steve Watt, Mark Buckley
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Extension in Mona Passage, Northeast Caribbean

As shown by the recent Mw 7.0 Haiti earthquake, intra-arc deformation, which accompanies the subduction process, can present seismic and tsunami hazards to nearby islands. Spatially-limited diffuse tectonic deformation within the Northeast Caribbean Plate Boundary Zone likely led to the development of the submerged Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. GPS geodetic data and

Authors
J.D. Chaytor, Uri S. ten Brink
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Tsunami simulations of the 1867 Virgin Island earthquake: Constraints on epicenter location and fault parameters

The 18 November 1867 Virgin Island earthquake and the tsunami that closely followed caused considerable loss of life and damage in several places in the northeast Caribbean region. The earthquake was likely a manifestation of the complex tectonic deformation of the Anegada Passage, which cuts across the Antilles island arc between the Virgin Islands and the Lesser Antilles. In this article, we att

Authors
Roy Barkan, Uri S. ten Brink
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Far field tsunami simulations of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake: Implications for tsunami hazard to the U.S. East Coast and the Caribbean

The great Lisbon earthquake of November 1st, 1755 with an estimated moment magnitude of 8.5-9.0 was the most destructive earthquake in European history. The associated tsunami run-up was reported to have reached 5-15??m along the Portuguese and Moroccan coasts and the run-up was significant at the Azores and Madeira Island. Run-up reports from a trans-oceanic tsunami were documented in the Caribbe

Authors
R. Barkan, Uri S. ten Brink, J. Lin

Submarine landslide as the source for the October 11, 1918 Mona Passage tsunami: Observations and modeling

The October 11, 1918 ML 7.5 earthquake in the Mona Passage between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico generated a local tsunami that claimed approximately 100 lives along the western coast of Puerto Rico. The area affected by this tsunami is now significantly more populated. Newly acquired high-resolution bathymetry and seismic reflection lines in the Mona Passage show a fresh submarine landslide 15
Authors
A.M. López-Venegas, Uri S. ten Brink, Eric L. Geist
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Landslide Hazards Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, 2020 Puerto Rico Earthquakes

Tsunami probability in the Caribbean Region

We calculated tsunami runup probability (in excess of 0.5 m) at coastal sites throughout the Caribbean region. We applied a Poissonian probability model because of the variety of uncorrelated tsunami sources in the region. Coastlines were discretized into 20 km by 20 km cells, and the mean tsunami runup rate was determined for each cell. The remarkable ???500-year empirical record compiled by O'Lo

Authors
T. Parsons, E.L. Geist

Read research news highlights about USGS tsunami research on Puerto Rico.

Lea las noticias más importantes sobre las investigaciones del USGS en Puerto Rico con relación a maremotos.

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National Preparedness Month 2020: Earthquakes and Tsunamis

Natural hazards have the potential to impact a majority of Americans every year.  USGS science provides part of the foundation for emergency...

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