November 27, 1630 Earthquake: Lima, Peru
A magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck Lima, Peru on November 27, 1630 at 16:30 UTC, 30 km below the surface.
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 27, 1630
- Time
- 16:30 UTC
- Place
- Lima, Peru
- Magnitude
- 8.1
- Focal depth
- 30 km (19 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 12.200° S, 77.500° W
- Country
- Peru
The toll
- Deaths
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- 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.
On 27 November, at 11:30, the people of Lima being congregated in the Plaza de Arms awaiting a bullfight, a strong earthquake occurred which caused deaths; the tower of the cathedral and other buildings were knocked out of plumb, and many others were damaged. The other cities of the realm did not suffer any damage (reference #1111)
Moderate destruction in Lima (reference #1102)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- 1657, Lima,callao, Peru
- 1654, Lima, Chile, Peru
- October 29, 1746, Lima, Callao, Peru
- October 20, 1687, Lima, Peru
- August 15, 2007, Ica, Pisco, Lima, Peru
- May 24, 1940, Peru
- October 3, 1974, Lima, Callao, Peru
- March 30, 1828, Lima, Callao, Peru
- July 10, 1586, Lima, Peru
- January 5, 1974, Lima, Yauyos, Peru
- April 18, 1993, Lima, Peru
- January 8, 1865, Peru
- May 28, 1948, Canete, Peru
- March 28, 1982, Coast, Lunahuana, Lima, Huancayo, Peru
- May 12, 2022, Lima, Callao, Chilca, Peru
More
Significant earthquakes of 1630The 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 919.