M6.5 earthquake 18 km WSW of Oxapampa, Peru
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 18 km WSW of Oxapampa, Peru on Fri, Dec 24, 1937, 1:20 AM GMT-5 (06:20 UTC), 15 km (9 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Mw, moment), strong
- Magnitude from
- ISC-GEM global catalog
- Local time
- UTC
- 1937-12-24 06:20:43 UTC
- Depth
- 15.0 km (9.3 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 10.637° S, 75.562° W
- Region
- Peru
- Strongest shaking
- VII, very strong shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Deaths and damage
From NOAA NCEI’s Significant Earthquake Database (record 3605), matched to this event by time and place.
- Deaths
- 15
- Missing
- Few (about 1 to 50) with its tsunami and other effects
- Injuries
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 92
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- VII, very strong shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 27.5% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 3.2 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.37
- Depth from
- From location
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 3.5 and up: 0 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
None recorded.
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgem903407. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 3:10 AM UTC.