July 22, 1816 Earthquake: Soloma, Guatemala
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Soloma, Guatemala on July 22, 1816 at 15:30 UTC, 33 km below the surface. It killed 23 people.
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
- July 22, 1816
- Time
- 15:30 UTC
- Place
- Soloma, Guatemala
- Magnitude
- 7.5 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 15.500° N, 91.500° W
- Country
- Guatemala
The toll
- Deaths
- 23
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
- Houses damaged
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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.
The main shock followed at 0930 local time (1530 GMT) on 22 July 1816. From the damage, a moment is estimated at between 3 x 10 and 8 x 10 23 people were killed. Fifty-seven hills were said to have "broken or split open," probably landslides, burying the terraced farmland and the barns filled with the harvest. (reference #3838)
Damages in Totonicapan, Huehuetenango, San Miguel, San Antonio llotenango, y la villa de Chiantla. (reference #14059)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 26, 1917, Guatemala City
- April 19, 1902, Quezaltenango, San Marcos, Guatemala
- June 3, 1773, St. Jago, Guatemala
- September 3, 1874, Antigua,chimaltenango,amatitlan, Guatemala
- July 29, 1773, Antigua, Guatemala
- November 7, 2012, San Marcos, San Cristobal Cochu, Guatemala
- September 18, 1991, Guatemala City, Pachuta, Solola
- September 25, 1968, S Chiapas, Mexico-Guatemala
- July 29, 1978, Patzun, Guatemala
- July 8, 2025, Guatemala City, Escuintla, Sacatepequez
- June 14, 2017, Quetzaltenango, Suchitepequez, Mexico, Guatemala
- March 13, 1976, Guatemala
- July 7, 2014, San Marcos, Mexico, Guatemala
- October 27, 1979, Guatemala
- February 16, 2022, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala, Quezaltenango
More
Significant earthquakes of 1816The 1800sRecent 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 1622.