Significant earthquakes of 1573

November 14, 1573 Earthquake: Colima, Mexico

November 14, 1573

An earthquake struck Colima, Mexico on November 14, 1573.

Map

Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.

The earthquake

Date
November 14, 1573
Place
Colima, Mexico
Intensity
8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami
None recorded
Epicenter
19.200° N, 104.000° W
Country
Mexico

The toll

Damage
Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
Houses destroyed
Many (101 to 1,000)

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.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

1537, Colima destroyed. (reference #1195)

1537, November 14. Many houses and the church of Colima are reported to have fallen. However, the church of Colima was also reported destroyed in 1568 due to the earthquake in the province of Avalos. It is possible that the church was destroyed a second time or that there is confusion in the references about these two events and this earthquake in 1573 only damaged houses in Colima. (reference #13024)

1537, November 14. Colima (reference #13234)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1573The 1500sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

Sources

Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 760.