May 24, 1614 Earthquake: Terceira, Azores
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Terceira, Azores on May 24, 1614. It killed 200 people.
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
- May 24, 1614
- Place
- Terceira, Azores
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Intensity
- 10 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 38.400° N, 24.100° W
- Country
- Azores
The toll
- Deaths
- 200
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
- Houses damaged
- 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.
On May 24, 1614, a strong earthquake with MMI X caused severe damage in the eastern part of Terceira Island and killed more than 200 people. According to the historical account of an anonymous source who witnessed the event, as related by Maldonado (1711), Lajes and Vila Nova were completely destroyed, and the ground cracks increased in depth and size from Vila Nova to Lajes, suggesting that the vertical peak ground acceleration was higher than the gravitational acceleration. The main shock was inserted into a seismic sequence that started on April 9, 1614, and lasted until November 20, 1614. The epicentre was located in the Lajes graben, a tectonic structure that lies in the northeastern part of Terceira Island with a general direction of NW-SE. (reference #12490)
1614 May 24, magnitude 6.3, intensity X-XI, at least 200 deaths, total or partial destruction of buildings in the eastern part of the island (reference #13058)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1614The 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 868.