March 15, 1604 Earthquake: Oaxaca, Mexico
An earthquake struck Oaxaca, Mexico on March 15, 1604.
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
- March 15, 1604
- Place
- Oaxaca, Mexico
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 17.000° N, 96.300° W
- Country
- Mexico
The toll
- Injuries
- Many (about 101 to 1,000) with its tsunami and other effects
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 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.
1604 March 15. It is reported that most of the buildings in the city of Oaxaca fell to the ground and that the Dominican convent of San Pablo, damaged three months earlier by another earthquake, was left in ruins. Another very strong earthquake has just destroyed the buildings of Antequera. (reference #13024)
Reference #13234 lists earthquakes in Oaxaca in 1604 March and 1604 March 15 (with precise date), as well as others in 1604 in Oaxaca without a month or data attributed.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- August 28, 1973, Veracruz, Mexico City
- September 30, 1999, Oaxaca, Mexico
- July 26, 1937, Esperanza, Veracruz, Central, Puebla, Mexico
- May 11, 1870, Oaxaca,zanaguia,san Francisco Ozolotepec, Mexico
- June 15, 1999, Puebla, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Morelos, Guerrero, Mexico
- August 2, 1968, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Mexico
- February 16, 2018, Oaxaca, Mexico
- June 23, 2020, Oaxaca, Mexico
- November 29, 1978, Oaxaca, Mexico
- October 5, 1801, Oaxaca, Mexico
- August 23, 1965, Mexico City, Oaxaca
- September 23, 2017, Oaxaca, Mexico
- June 17, 1928, Oaxaca, Mexico
- May 5, 1854, Veracruz,oaxaca, Mexico
- July 29, 2014, Oaxaca, Mexico
More
Significant earthquakes of 1604The 1600sRecent 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 822.