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 10, 1727
Place: Mexico City,oaxaca
Tsunami: None recorded
Epicenter: 19.200° N, 99.100° W
Country: Mexico
Region: North America and Hawaii

The toll

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.

1727 March 10 to 18. Destructive in Mexico and Oaxaca (reference #1195)

1727 March 10 and 18. Destructive in Mexico and Oaxaca town (reference #1055)

1727 March 10, Oaxaca (reference #1002)

1727 March 10. In the city of Oaxaca, damage to many buildings was reported. The school and the vaults of the church of La Compania were left in ruins and had to be demolished. Interpretation by the Instituto de Geofisica: The original archival sources cite that this sequence of earthquakes, close to St. Joseph's Day, occurred in 1729. Some secondary sources, like Gay and Martinez Gracida put it in 1727 also close to St. Joseph's Day. It is probably the same earthquake where there was an error in the date and that is how it is interpreted here. There is not enough data to make an interpretation. However, the absence of reports from other sites suggests an earthquake with epicenter near Oaxaca. The 1729 March 16 earthquake was strongly felt in Mexico City, it could be that the two tremors reported as occurring in March 1727 and 1729 are the same. (reference #13024)

Sources NCEI cites

The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.

#1195 Figueroa A., J. (1963). Historia Sismicia y Estadistica de Temblores de la Costa Occidental de Mexico. Bibliographical Bulletin of American Geophysics and Oceanography, vol. III, Instituto Panamericano de Geographia e Historia, Mexico, D.F. Mexico, p. 107-134.
#13024 Suarez, Gerardo (2015 (?)). Catalogo de Sismos Historicos de Mexico. Instituto de Geofisica de la UNAM. Link.
#1002 Lomnitz, Cinna (1974). Development in Geotectonics #5, Global Tectonics and Earthquake Risk, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1974.
#1055 Milne, John (1911). Catalogue of Destructive Earthquakes [7 to 1899 A.D.], Report of the 81st Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Portsmouth, London, United Kingdom, p. 649-740.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1727 The 1700s Recent earthquakes near here This 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 1238.