1799 Earthquake: Lima, Callao, Peru

On September 6, 1799 (?), the newspaper "Moniteur" reported that South America had recently experienced strong earthquakes. The most severe tremors were recorded in Lima, where, over a period of several days, many buildings were damaged beyond repair. Each tremor was accompanied by a rumbling sound. A man on a vessel near Callao reported

that he had had a distinct impression of the nearby mountains being raised and lowered, moved toward him and pushed farther back, almost as if by some elastic quality.

According to Hoff's catalogue (1840), a destructive earthquake occurred in Trujillo in the second half of the year. It is possible that Hoff's record refers to a town of the same name in Peru (Perrey, 1858).

[This may be difficult to verify. The more reliable sources (for example Silgado, 1968) do not mention destructive earthquakes in Lima between 1746 and 1828. Also, it is difficult to relate the above events to the tsunami of 1746, because in that disaster all vessels in the Callao area were lost.]

(above from reference #415)