Disasters of St. Kitts & Nevis
Four centuries of disaster history — from the 1626 Bloody Point massacre and the 1690 Jamestown tsunami through to the modern hurricane decade. Each event in the federal record, with damages where documented.
A Federal Disaster History
St. Kitts and Nevis is located in the Leeward Islands in the North East Caribbean, and is one of the nine Member States of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The islands of St. Kitts and Nevis are volcanic in nature with undulating topography. Both have central mountain ranges burnished by a system of dry rivers — locally called ghauts — created by rapid runoff from the mountains to the coastline.
The rapid runoff triggers land slippage and flooding during periods of heavy rainfall. The islands are prone to other natural hazards that include hurricanes — most common during the Tropical Atlantic Season of 1st June to 30th November — and occasional volcanic and tectonic activity. Earthquakes of magnitude 8.0 and above have occurred in the past that inflicted major financial losses to both islands.
The consequences of these natural disasters can have a severe impact on economic activities, property, human welfare and natural resources. Every category of hazard the SKN Hazards Risk Profile catalogues — hurricane, volcano, earthquake, tsunami, drought, flood, landslide, storm surge, coastal erosion, sea-level rise, fire and heat-wave — shows up somewhere in the historical record below.
A European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO) diagnostic study reports that between 1900 and 1996, Caribbean countries had sustained 309 disaster events resulting in over 72,000 deaths and approximately 12 million people affected. The St. Kitts & Nevis record below sits inside that regional picture.
Notable Events
Four events that shape how NDMD plans today.
M.V. Christena Disaster (1970)
236 lives lost in the Narrows between St. Kitts and Nevis. Remains the deadliest single event in modern federal history.
1843 Great Earthquake
Magnitude 8.0–8.5; Charlestown Court House to the ground, nearly the whole of the town destroyed. Estimated £50,000 damage at the time.
Hurricane Hugo (1989)
Modern federal-record hurricane impact — XCD $112 million in damages, one fatality. Triggered the modern disaster-management framework.
Hurricane Lenny (1999)
Severely damaged the Nevis coastline, Four Seasons Hotel and Deep Water Harbours. XCD $113.2 million.
Disaster Timeline · 1626 – 2016
Every documented event in the federal historical record, with damages where available. Sourced from the live ndmd.kn page.
St. Kitts — Bloody PointCivil
Bloody Point was the location where French and British forces massacred over 2,000 Carib Indians.
>2,000 fatalitiesHurricane destroys all houses on St. KittsHurricane
A hurricane destroyed all the houses on the island of St. Kitts.
Hurricane destroys all houses on St. KittsHurricane
A second hurricane destroyed all the houses on the island of St. Kitts.
Jamestown destroyed by earthquake & tsunamiTsunami
Jamestown, former Capital of Nevis, reportedly destroyed by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami at 5 pm.
Major hurricane on St. KittsHurricane
Hurricane caused widespread damage on St. Kitts.
£500,000Fire and hurricane on St. KittsFire
A fire caused significant loss of property in St. Kitts. It was followed only a day later by a hurricane.
Basseterre floodingFlood
Major flooding torments the inhabitants of Basseterre.
Destructive HurricaneHurricane
Destructive hurricane impacts St. Kitts & Nevis.
Destructive HurricaneHurricane
Destructive hurricane impacts St. Kitts & Nevis.
Dreadful Earthquakes affect NevisEarthquake
A series of dreadful earthquakes affected Nevis.
Destructive HurricaneHurricane
Destructive hurricane impacts St. Kitts & Nevis.
MV Clarendon sinksMaritime
MV Clarendon, travelling from Basseterre to England with cargo of rum, sugar, arrow root, coconuts and turtles, sought shelter in Portsmouth after crossing the Atlantic but without success. The ship sank when it came under hurricane-force winds while trying to get to Plymouth for shelter. 3 crewmen saved.
13 sailors and 10 passengers perishedMagnitude 8.0–8.5 earthquake on NevisEarthquake
Charlestown Court House to the ground. Bath house much damaged. Custom House partly down and all the Mills more or less injured. Nearly the whole of the town destroyed; most wood-built houses left standing but all stone buildings so injured that they must be taken down and rebuilt. Only 2 Mills on the island that can be worked.
£50,000Cholera EpidemicEpidemic
Estimated that one sixth of the population died from the disease. 3,920 persons died in St. Kitts and 891 in Nevis.
4,811 fatalitiesThe Great Fire of 1867Fire
The great fire of 1867 left damage throughout Basseterre. Many people were homeless and food was scarce as most businesses had lost significant inventory to the flames.
Destructive HurricaneHurricane
Destructive hurricane impacts St. Kitts & Nevis.
Destructive HurricaneHurricane
Destructive hurricane impacts St. Kitts & Nevis.
St. Kitts — Disastrous flooding of BasseterreFlood
Disastrous flooding of Basseterre.
231 fatalitiesDestructive HurricaneHurricane
Destructive hurricane impacts St. Kitts & Nevis.
Destructive HurricaneHurricane
Destructive hurricane impacts St. Kitts & Nevis.
Destructive HurricaneHurricane
Destructive hurricane impacts St. Kitts & Nevis.
M.V. Crown sinksMaritime
M.V. Crown sank in the Caribbean sea while travelling from Nevis to St. Kitts with a crew of eight, captained by Elenezer Hicks.
3 fatalitiesSevere earthquakes strike SK&NEarthquake
Severe earthquakes strike St. Kitts & Nevis.
M.V. Lady Nisbett & M.V. EnterpriseMaritime
M.V. Lady Nisbett and M.V. Enterprise mishap/accident.
Brimstone Hill stampedeCivil
12 persons died in a stampede on Easter Monday at Brimstone Hill, St. Kitts when a crowd ran into a passageway to escape from rain.
12 fatalitiesM.V. Christena DisasterMaritime
236 persons die in boat incident in the Narrows, between St. Kitts & Nevis. The deadliest single event in modern federal history.
236 fatalitiesMagnitude 7.5 earthquake — Leeward IslandsEarthquake
An earthquake of magnitude 7.5 struck the Leeward Islands causing significant damage. St. George's Anglican Church damaged.
XCD $23 million · USD $8.5 millionSt. Kitts Court House burntFire
The Court House in St. Kitts was burnt to the ground in 1982 (arson) and rebuilt in 1995.
ArsonMagnitude 6.6 earthquake — slight damage in NevisEarthquake
Slight damage in Nevis.
Hurricane HugoHurricane
Hurricane Hugo impacts St. Kitts & Nevis.
XCD $112 million · 1 fatalityHurricane LuisHurricane
Hurricane Luis impacts St. Kitts & Nevis.
XCD $197 million · USD $72.5 millionHurricane MarilynHurricane
Hurricane Marilyn impacts St. Kitts & Nevis.
Basseterre floodingFlood
Major flooding continues to torment the inhabitants of Basseterre.
Hurricane GeorgesHurricane
Hurricane Georges impacts St. Kitts & Nevis.
USD $402 millionHurricane JoseHurricane
Hurricane Jose impacts St. Kitts and Nevis.
XCD $10.2 million · USD $3.8 millionHurricane LennyHurricane
Hurricane Lenny severely damages the Nevis coastline, Four Seasons Hotel and Deep Water Harbours.
XCD $113.2 million · USD $41.9 millionMagnitude 7.3 earthquake — slight damage in NevisEarthquake
Slight damage in Nevis.
Hurricane OmarHurricane
Severely damages the Four Seasons Hotel, closing it for more than a year.
XCD $17.1 millionHurricane EarlHurricane
Hurricane Earl impacts St. Kitts and Nevis.
XCD $8.0 millionTropical Storm OttoHurricane
Tropical Storm Otto impacts St. Kitts and Nevis.
XCD $54.4 millionFlooding in Stoney Grove, Ramsbury & CharlestownFlood
Flooding in Stoney Grove, Ramsbury and Charlestown communities.
XCD $2.5 millionMagnitude 5.6 earthquake — no damageEarthquake
No damage reported.
Magnitude 6.0 earthquake — no damageEarthquake
No damage reported.
By Hazard Type
Every disaster in the timeline maps to one or more of the operational hazard pages. Use them to dig into current preparedness guidance for each type.
Hurricane
The single most frequent disaster type in the historical record.
OpenEarthquake
Including the 1843 Great Earthquake and 1974 magnitude 7.5 event.
OpenTsunami
The 1690 Jamestown event is one of the earliest documented Caribbean tsunamis.
OpenFire
The 1776, 1867 and 1982 fires figure prominently in the timeline.
OpenFlood
Multiple Basseterre flooding events from 1790 through to 2012.
OpenSKN Hazards Risk Profile
The structural framework that catalogues the underlying hazards.
OpenLearn the History to Plan the Future
Every disaster in this record left a planning lesson. NDMD uses the historical pattern — hurricane peak seasons, fire compound events, the 1843 earthquake design baseline — to set current preparedness, evacuation and infrastructure standards.