Significant earthquakes of 1575

December 16, 1575 Earthquake: Valdivia, Chile

December 16, 1575 · M8.5 · 1,321 deaths

A magnitude 8.5 earthquake struck Valdivia, Chile on December 16, 1575 at 18:30 UTC. It killed 1,321 people, counting the tsunami it caused.

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
December 16, 1575
Time
18:30 UTC
Place
Valdivia, Chile
Magnitude
8.5 (Ms)
Intensity
10 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Epicenter
39.800° S, 73.200° W
Country
Chile

The toll

Deaths
21; 1,321 with its tsunami and other effects
Damage
Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
Houses destroyed
Some (about 51 to 100) with its tsunami and other effects

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.

A severe earthquake caused heavy damage in Valdivia, Angol, Nueva Imperial, and damaged the surrounding areas approximately from Villarica to Osorno. The number of deaths were comparatively small (21), because the force of the tremors increased gradually and the inhabitants had time to flee from their homes. The tremors continued for a period of forty days. Sizeable cracks appeared in the ground and landslides were also recorded, a river flowing from Lake Riniue became blocked in its upper reaches. The dam lasted until April of the following year, when after prolonged rains the water level in the lake rose considerably, causing the dam to burst and resulting in much devastation farther downstream; more than 1200 Indians perished and many cattle were lost as well.

The earthquake caused a powerful tsunami in the area of Valdivia, located on a river of the same name about 25 km upstream from its mouth.

(above from Reference #415)

Reference #1206 lists epicenter 39.8S 73.2W, magnitude 8.5, intensity X.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1575The 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 767.