June 3, 1773 Earthquake: St. Jago, Guatemala

June 3, 1773. The capital of Guatemala, situated in the same place where Antigua is now located, experienced terrible earthquakes ten times between 1565 and 1773. The sea encroached inland on June 3, 1773.

Two volcanoes near the city appeared to boil. Flows of hot water issued from one and flows of burning hot lava issued from the other. Cracks and gaps formed everywhere on the surface. The ground was in continuous motion.

This terrible state lasted five days. Finally, on the 7th, a chasm opened up and almost the entire city disappeared together with 5000 families (Berghaus, 1844, ref #4116).

These data, including those about the flood, are doubtful. Essentially, as is directly stated in Mallet's catalogue (1854, ref #496), the matter concerns the issue of water from a caldron lake. Putte's (1924, ref #4117) book about seismic events gives the following account. In 1773, the capital of Guatemala was completely destroyed by a series of earthquakes, the first of which occurred on June 10. On July 29, a "fatal" earthquake completed the destruction o€ the city. One hundred and twenty persons were killed and 300 injured, even though the population lived in tents because of the continual shocks. The shocks continued for several more months, since the church and the monastery, which remained standing, although greatly damaged on July 29, finally collapsed only on December 13. The pleistoseismic zone was apparently very limited, since the residents who fled from the capital settled at the settlements of San Lucas [14 km west of Guatemala], Micsco [8 km west of Guatemala], Amatitlan, Petapa [15 km south of Guatemala], Pinula [eastern suburb of Guatemala], Tecpan, Escuintla, Villa Nueva [13 km south west of Guatemala], and Chimaltenango [35 km west of Guatemala], which were very close to the former capital.

(above from reference #415)

June 3, 1773, Guatemala, the earthquake lasted five days. The lake inundated its shores. Two neighbouring volcanoes gave signs of action From the one torrents of hot water, and from the other lava flowed. The earth opened and the disturbance was accompanied by thunder, lighting and rain. On the 7th the earth opened in huge chasms, and swallowed up the city of St. Jago with 5000 (or 8000) families. (reference #496)

June 3, 1773, Guatemala, St. Jago or Santiago; 5000 to 8000 families lost their lives, intensity III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed towns and devastated districts. (reference #1055)

According to the descriptions of the historian Juarros, an eyewitness, collected by Montessus (1888), the tremors in Guatemala began in mid-May 1773, with greater frequency in the last days of the month, and were not violent until 11 June […] The number of victims in the Pancho Valley town has been strongly exaggerated by Huot (1872) at 45,000; Mallet (1853) gives between 5 and 8,000 families as victims. In reality 123 corpses were removed and Montessus (1888) estimates that they did not exceed 600; taking into account those who perished in flight, from starvation and disease, this figure could be twice as high […] Apparently, according to Dollfus, A. and Mont-Serrat, E. de (1868) the earthquake was felt in Mexico. There were many aftershocks, including one on 7 September which overturned some walls. On 13 December the city was destroyed by another aftershock, with cracks in the ground and the collapse of hills. This catastrophe definitively decided the transfer of the capital city from the Panchoy valley to the Ermita valley, some 50 kilometres to the northeast of the first, the place it currently occupies. Juarros notes that: ‘even if (the reconstruction) were easier, ... it would mean working for 30 to 40 years more; and if it were planted in another place it could last much longer’. (reference #124)