Earthquakes occur regularly in the Virgin Islands. The eastward shifting Caribbean plate grinds against the westward moving North American plate, just north of the Virgin Islands along the Puerto Rican Trench. Generally, the quakes are too small for people to notice, and they do not cause tsunamis.
On rare occasions, earthquakes of serious magnitude do occur, and the sea moves with them.
Read an historical account the Virgin Islands Earthquake of 1867 and the tsunami that followed.
Read about the potential for earthquakes and tsunamis in and around the Virgin Islands.
