Significant earthquakes of 1819

April 4, 1819 Earthquake: Copiapo, Chile

April 4, 1819 · M8 · Deaths: many

A magnitude 8 earthquake struck Copiapo, Chile on April 4, 1819 at 20:00 UTC.

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
April 4, 1819
Time
20:00 UTC
Place
Copiapo, Chile
Magnitude
8
Tsunami
None recorded
Epicenter
27.400° S, 70.300° W
Country
Chile

The toll

Deaths
Many (about 101 to 1,000)
Damage
Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
Houses destroyed
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.

On April 4, 1819, 16:00 (local time) the ground heaved like a ship in a stormy sea. All the shocks were preceded by strange rumbling sounds, not unlike the sounds of rolling thunder reverberating through mountains. One of the churches and several other buildings collapsed, causing many people to perish under the ruins. The tremors continued for a whole week. (reference #415).

Epicenter 27.4 S, 70.3 W (reference #552)

[see Chilean earthquakes on March 30, 1796; August 24, 1798; April 3, 1819; April 12, 1819.]

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1819The 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 1636.