May 14, 1647 Earthquake: Santiago, Chile

1647, May 13. The great Santiago earthquake occurred on May 13 (Monday) at 10:30 p.m. [Local time]. Santiago contained about 300 houses at the time. The number of victims was estimated at "about a thousand", or one to every five inhabitants. All descriptions point to an epicenter within 50 miles of Santiago. The estimated magnitude is 8.5. (reference #252)

1647, 10:30 p.m., Santiago, magnitude 8.5, 1000 deaths. (reference #1170)

1647, May 13. Santiago, Chile, magnitude 8.5, 1,000 deaths. (reference #1002)

1647, May 14, 02:30 UTC. Epicenter 33.4S, 70.6W, intensity XI. (reference #1206)

2000 deaths. (reference #1051)

The great 1647 Santiago earthquake, a critical event for the assessment of hazard in the capital, remains poorly understood. Santiago had a population of around 5,000 at the time and the countryside was sparsely settled.[...]The shock was sudden and violent, without warning; the strong motion lasted "the time to say three Credos", about 90 to 100 seconds. (The Credo or profession of faith was recited in Latin for divine protection, especially in articulo mortis, i.e., in the expectation of death)[...]Reports from beyond Santiago are scant and unreliable because of the low population density. (reference #12425)

In 1647, Santiago was a village containing about 300 houses, most of which collapsed. About 20 per cent of the population was killed in the earthquake[...]the great Santiago earthquak eof 1647 should probably be assigned to the coastal or offshore subduction zone, asin the Central Chilean earthquakes of 1730, 1822, 1906, 1965, and 1971. The magnitude of the 1647 earthquake may have been similar to that of the 1730 event,estimated at 83/4 by Lomnitz (1970). (reference #12760)

Reference #14060 transcribes a passage from Mendoza (1665) that describes a snow and mud debris flow “14 leagues from Chuquiago (city of La Paz) [Bolivia]”, striking some houses of indigenous peoples, killing more than twenty people, burying them in their own houses. The author postulates whether this landslide on the llimani snow-capped mountain be a consequence of this Santiago de Chile earthquake.