Country profile · USGS ComCat
Earthquakes in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago has catalogued 89 M4+ earthquakes since 2005 (ranked 84th of 187 countries), with the strongest reaching magnitude M6.7.
Trinidad and Tobago ranks 84th of 187 countries by catalogued seismic activity - a country with limited but non-zero seismic activity, averaging about 4 M4+ events a year alongside 8 significant M6+ earthquakes since 1900. The record is episodic - 25% of those M6+ events fall in 1997 alone.
- 89
- M4+ events (since 2005)
- 8
- Major M6+ (since 1900)
- M6.7
- Strongest
- ~4
- M4+ per year
The verdict
Trinidad and Tobago is moderately seismically active, above the global median, with 89 M4+ earthquakes logged since 2005 and 8 major M6+ events since 1900, the strongest reaching magnitude 6.7.
- 1997
- busiest year (2 major events)
- 34 km
- average recorded event depth
- 100%
- of events are shallow (<70 km, the most damaging kind)
Average catalogued magnitude is 4.5 - most events are moderate M4-5 tremors that are felt but rarely cause damage. On the M4+ activity ladder Eritrea sits immediately above at 93 events and Palau sits immediately below at 84.
Catalog event strip
Event tape TRINIDAD-AND · Trinidad and Tobago M4+ · 84th/187
Trinidad and Tobago · 89 M4+ · max M6.7 · 8 M6+
- BAND 89
- STRIP 84th/187
- BOOK M6.7
- RANK 8
- MAX near Eritrea
- M6 100% shallow
Stamps derive from this country's USGS ComCat row (M4+ book, rank, peak magnitude, M6+ record, ladder neighbour, depth/peak year), not a hazard forecast. PlainQuake is informational only - not professional advice and not a substitute for official USGS guidance. See our disclaimer. Verify with USGS ComCat → · Read with methodology → · How earthquakes are measured → · Reading earthquake data → · All country catalog rows → · Countries ranked →
Observed impact record
What ComCat observed after earthquakes in Trinidad and Tobago
USGS recorded Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) for 6 events in this catalogued record; their average observed intensity was MMI 5.6. These are only events with an observation, not an estimate of future shaking or a safety rating.
- MMI observations
- 6
- Average observed MMI
- 5.6
- PAGER alerts / tsunami flags
- 0 / 0
Source: USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat) GeoJSON impact fields. Missing MMI, alert, and tsunami values remain unreported rather than being treated as zero.
Where Trinidad and Tobago sits in the catalog
Rank 84th of 187 tracked countries (55th percentile by M4+ count since 2005). On the M4+ activity ladder Eritrea sits immediately above at 93 events and Palau sits immediately below at 84.
Trinidad and Tobago's M4+ count vs. every tracked country
Total catalogued M4+ events since 2005, USGS ComCat
89 Top 45% higher than 55% of 187 countries
Each bar is a 500-wide band; taller bars hold more countries. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat) · 2005-present
Major (M6+) earthquakes in Trinidad and Tobago by year
Count of significant (magnitude 6.0+) events catalogued each year
- 1910
1910: 1 major (M6+) events
1
- 1922
1922: 1 major (M6+) events
1
- 1954
1954: 1 major (M6+) events
1
- 1988
1988: 1 major (M6+) events
1
- 1994
1994: 1 major (M6+) events
1
- 1997
1997: 2 major (M6+) events
2
- 2006
2006: 1 major (M6+) events
1
What this shows Trinidad and Tobago's most active year for major earthquakes was 1997 (2 M6+ events). Major-quake counts are irregular, they track the episodic release of tectonic stress, not a smooth trend.
1 of 89 catalogued M4+ events since 2005 reached M6.0 or higher.
Magnitude distribution of major events
Breakdown of the 8 significant (M6+) earthquakes on record for Trinidad and Tobago.
M6.0-6.9
8
100.0%
Depth of major earthquakes
Hypocentral depth of the 8 M6+ events, shallow quakes shake the surface hardest. Average depth: 34 km.
Shallow (<70 km)
8
100.0% of events
Intermediate (70–300 km)
0
0.0% of events
Deep (>300 km)
0
0.0% of events
Strongest earthquakes in Trinidad and Tobago
The 8 most powerful events on record (USGS, since 1900).
| Mag | Location | Depth | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.7 | 18 km WSW of Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago | 5.0 km | Apr 22, 1997 |
| 6.7 | 62 km ESE of Sangre Grande, Trinidad and Tobago | 56.2 km | Mar 10, 1988 |
| 6.5 | 144 km ENE of Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago | 10.0 km | Jan 23, 1910 |
| 6.2 | 46 km E of Rio Claro, Trinidad and Tobago | 36.0 km | May 3, 1994 |
| 6.1 | 30 km NW of Petit Valley, Trinidad and Tobago | 53.0 km | Sep 29, 2006 |
| 6.1 | 33 km NW of Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago | 45.0 km | Apr 2, 1997 |
| 6.1 | 23 km N of Paradise, Trinidad and Tobago | 49.0 km | Dec 4, 1954 |
| 6.1 | 57 km ENE of Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago | 15.0 km | May 11, 1922 |
Significant earthquake record (8 events)
Every catalogued magnitude-6.0-and-above earthquake in Trinidad and Tobago since 1900, most recent first.
| Mag | Location | Depth | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | 30 km NW of Petit Valley, Trinidad and Tobago | 53.0 km | Sep 29, 2006 |
| 6.7 | 18 km WSW of Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago | 5.0 km | Apr 22, 1997 |
| 6.1 | 33 km NW of Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago | 45.0 km | Apr 2, 1997 |
| 6.2 | 46 km E of Rio Claro, Trinidad and Tobago | 36.0 km | May 3, 1994 |
| 6.7 | 62 km ESE of Sangre Grande, Trinidad and Tobago | 56.2 km | Mar 10, 1988 |
| 6.1 | 23 km N of Paradise, Trinidad and Tobago | 49.0 km | Dec 4, 1954 |
| 6.1 | 57 km ENE of Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago | 15.0 km | May 11, 1922 |
| 6.5 | 144 km ENE of Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago | 10.0 km | Jan 23, 1910 |
Other countries in this catalog sample
A Trinidad and Tobago-keyed shuffle of the full 186-country roster, not the six nearest by count.
Peak-magnitude sample from the same roster
A second Trinidad and Tobago-keyed shuffle of countries with a recorded max magnitude.
Showing 6 of 186 countries with a recorded max magnitude.
According to the US Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, PlainQuake's figures are rendered directly from 317,293 recorded M4+ earthquakes and 14,444 significant M6+ events (USGS ComCat, 2005-present) -- no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-26.