From the point of view of damage to Port Royal and the Palisadoes, the worst earthquake in historical times was that of 1692, which destroyed much of Port Royal, with largely unknown effects on the rest of the peninsula. As most people know, the great earthquake of 1692 caused a landslide into Kingston Harbour that swallowed up a large portion of the old "wickedest city on earth". The Kingston earthquake of 1907 also resulted in the disappearance of a part of the Port Royal area by slumping into the channel to the harbour, leaving behind upheaved relics such as Giddy House and the Victoria Battery. In 1957 the earthquake that damaged much of Montego Bay also caused minor slumping of the beach at Port Royal.

The main reason why earthquakes always seem to trouble Port Royal is because much of the land there is new land, being created by the same longshore drift of sediment from further east. When the sand reaches Port Royal it has reached the end of the line, and with nowhere else to go, gets deposited to extend the existing beach areas on the south side of Port Royal. The new land thus created is potentially very unstable and earthquake shocks will frequently dislodge it into the ocean.