In Jamaica, January 14, 1907 the relatively simple and quiet existence of the city of Kingston was hit at about 3 pm by three shocks which caused considerable damage to every building in the city and spawned a fire that gutted much of the commercial centre. Property valued at some two million pounds sterling lay in ruins.

The earthquake occurred without warning on the morning of Tuesday the 7th June at 11:15a.m., and continued for less than 15 minutes, during which time it destroyed every building or other substantial structure in the Island, a total of nearly 3000. Throughout Jamaica, gaps were opened miles in length and often 20 feet wide and hundreds of yards deep while the whole of Spanish Town was destroyed.

Hurricane Sandy impacted the island not from the traditional, south-easterly direction but from the south during what can be considered as the latter part of the North Atlantic Hurricane season. Rainfall analysis associated with the passage of Hurricane Sandy show that the three-day totals for rainfall was below their 30-year mean at most stations. Rainfall volumes at four stations exceeded the 30-year mean.