May 9, 1789 Earthquake: Cananeia, Brazil

Reference #14105 [unofficial translation]:

It was such a strange novelty that some were stunned by its movement, others fled their homes in terror, and still others fell to their knees and begged God for mercy. Although no house in the village was destroyed, all felt it more than others from the impact of that great tremor. some will attest that the earth seemed to be overturned because it was shaking, and others will say that they could not stand firm; At the moment of this tremor, a whisper was heard rising from the woods, caused by the movement of the trees, and the birds that were already perched took flight, their cries echoing their feelings. The cattle showed themselves to be frightened, and some mooed; the dogs let out sad and bewildered howls; the sea also showed its distress because at that moment, without a breath of wind, the small and peaceful sea that runs around Cananéa became rough, and its waves crashed furiously against the beaches, and the fish showed how strange these impulses of nature were to them, for they were seen jumping wildly out of the water. The twilight of that night showed the atmosphere to be haunted by an imperceptible smoke, but then it cleared up and the night became serene, with the moon shining with its usual brightness

Reference #14100 [unofficial translation]:

Residents heard a loud underground rumbling and felt the ground shake for about two minutes. “No houses in the village were demolished, but all felt it, some more than others,” and some people said they could not stand firmly on the ground. Trees shook, birds flew, dogs howled, and cattle became agitated […] the epicenter of the historic tremor was much closer to Cananeia.

Reference #14104 [unofficial translation]:

There was nothing weird to be noted during that day, not even at the sun or the “elements”.

After the Sun had crossed his whole path during that super bright and calm day, and was setting at the west, as the moon was rising again, this time very “rubby”, suddenly an underground rumble with an earthquake happened, lasting about 2min, roaring like a scab dog. As people faced this weird news, some people froze, others ran up to their houses and others stopped claiming for God’s mercy.

And even no house collapsed, all of them felt that event, ones more than others, according to the residents. (Footnote: The Priest Simao de Vasconcelos, in his “Cronica” described that there was a storm in Cananeia, like “rain, lightning, wind, thunders and horrible earthquake, that looked like the whole universe was ending”).

Some reliable locals guaranteed that they felt that the Earth was “dissolving”, others said they could not stand still and felt quicksand. During this quake, they heard noises from the woods, caused by the tree's movements. The birds, that had already landed for their rest, flew away singing loud in alert. The cattle were shocked and some started mooing. The dogs became sad and howled like never before. The sea also showed signs of the impact, because at that moment, without any wind, the little and peaceful sea that surrounded the village, produced waves that were impressive for being able to crash at the shores despite the calm atmosphere. The fish also demonstrated how weird this “impulse” was, because they were observed to be agitated, jumping outside of the water. The twilight of that same night showed the air with an imperceptible smoke that quickly dissipated showing a calm night where the moon could fully shine

Reference #14103 gives a magnitude 3.7 mb [despite the described duration of shaking and felt reports on homes and people]