Significant earthquakes of 1740

August 25, 1740 Earthquake: Oaxaca,mexico City

August 25, 1740

An earthquake struck Oaxaca,mexico City on August 25, 1740.

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
August 25, 1740
Place
Oaxaca,mexico City
Intensity
6 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami
None recorded
Epicenter
17.000° N, 96.300° W
Country
Mexico

The toll

Damage
Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
Houses damaged
Some (about 51 to 100)

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.

1740 August 25, destructive in Oaxaca and Mexico (reference #1055, #1195)

1740 August 25. There is talk of damage to houses and some buildings in the city of Oaxaca and some material damage in Tlapa and Ometepec, Gro. Interpretation by the Instituto de Geofisica: It seems to be another tremor in the Costa Chica of Guerrero. It could be a doublet, very frequent in that region of Ometepec, of the earthquake of May 5, 1739. (reference #13024)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1740The 1700sRecent 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 1279.