NHESS

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences

NHESS

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

1684-9981

Copernicus Publications

Göttingen, Germany

10.5194/nhess-1-221-2001

Evaluation of tsunami risk in the Lesser Antilles

Zahibo

¹ Pelinovsky

E. N.

Université Antilles Guyane, UFR Sciences Exactes et Naturelles Département de Physique, Laboratoire de Physique Atmosphérique et Tropicale 97159 Pointe-à-Pitre Cedex, Guadeloupe (F.W.I.)

Laboratory of Hydrophysics and Nonlinear Acoustics, Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 46 Uljanov Street, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

31 12 2001

1 4 221 231

2001

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The main goal of this study is to give the preliminary estimates of the tsunami risks for the Lesser Antilles. We investigated the available data of the tsunamis in the French West Indies using the historical data and catalogue of the tsunamis in the Lesser Antilles. In total, twenty-four (24) tsunamis were recorded in this area for last 400 years; sixteen (16) events of the seismic origin, five (5) events of volcanic origin and three (3) events of unknown source. Most of the tsunamigenic earthquakes (13) occurred in the Caribbean, and three tsunamis were generated during far away earthquakes (near the coasts of Portugal and Costa Rica). The estimates of tsunami risk are based on a preliminary analysis of the seismicity of the Caribbean area and the historical data of tsunamis. In particular, we investigate the occurrence of historical extreme runup tsunami data on Guadeloupe, and these data are revised after a survey in Guadeloupe.