August 30, 1587 Earthquake: Quito, Ecuador
An earthquake struck Quito, Ecuador on August 30, 1587.
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
- August 30, 1587
- Place
- Quito, Ecuador
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 0.220° S, 78.500° W
- Country
- Ecuador
The toll
- Deaths
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- Injuries
- Many (about 101 to 1,000)
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
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.
August 30, 1587, Quito, Ecuador. (reference #1002)
August 30, 1587, Ecuador, Quito [0.23 S, 78.5 W], intensity III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed towns and devastated districts. (reference #1055)
August 30, 1587, Quito and its province. (reference #1211)
August 30, 1587, Quito. (reference #1532)
September 3, 1587, 0.2 W, 78.4 W, depth 30 km, magnitude 6.2, intensity IX. (reference #1220)
September 4, 1587, 01:00, 0.22 S, 78.5 W, magnitude 7.7, intensity X. (reference #1207)
September 3, 1587, felt strongly in Quito and number of dead not considerable but number of injured was (reference #1127)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- August 16, 1868, San Pablo, Guayaquil,ibarra, Colombia, Ecuador
- February 4, 1797, Riobamba, Quito, Cuzco, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador
- June 20, 1698, Tungurahua,cotopaxi,chimborazo, Ecuador
- August 5, 1949, Tungurahua, Ecuador
- March 6, 1987, Napo Province, Quito, Tulcan, Ecuador
- February 1640, Ecuador
- February 22, 1757, Cotopaxi,tungurahua, Latacunga, Ecuador
- January 31, 1906, Off Coast, Ecuador
- April 16, 2016, Manabi, Esmeraldas, Near West Coast, Ecuador
- December 14, 1923, Ipiales, Colombia
- January 9, 1936, Colombia
- March 3, 1924, Ecuador
- March 28, 1996, Cotopaxi, Pastaza, Tungurahua, Ambato, Ecuador
- July 30, 1960, Ecuador
- April 9, 1976, Esmeraldos, Ecuador
More
Significant earthquakes of 1587The 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 788.