October 9, 1831 Earthquake: Tacna, Arequipa, Arica, Peru, Chile

Name: October 9, 1831 Earthquake: Tacna, Arequipa, Arica, Peru, Chile
Start: 1831-10-09
Location: Tacna, Arequipa, Arica, Peru, Chile

October 9, 1831 · M7.8 · Deaths: some

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Tacna, Arequipa, Arica, Peru, Chile on October 9, 1831 at 02:15 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: October 9, 1831
Time: 02:15 UTC
Place: Tacna, Arequipa, Arica, Peru, Chile
Magnitude: 7.8
Intensity: 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami: None recorded
Epicenter: 18.500° S, 71.000° W
Country: Chile

The toll

Deaths: Some (about 51 to 100)
Damage: Limited (under about $1 million)

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.

1831 Oct 08. On 8 October at 9:50 p.m. in the afternoon an earthquake occurred in Tacna and Arica; for 15 days the earth was shaking, it was felt in Chuquisaca, Oruro and also in Potosi (Perrey, 1857). Silgado (1978) gives intensity VII for Arica where there were several deaths; Descotes and Cabre (1973) put this earthquake as occurring on 10 October and felt with full force in Chuquisaca (Sucre) and Potosi.

1831 Oct 10. At 21.30 a great tremor causes victims in the Departments of Arica and Tacna (current border between Chile and Peru); on the Bolivian side Montessus says, 2nd and 3rd p., that it was felt with full force in Chuquisaca (Sucre) and Potosí, but that precise data are lacking; it must have been felt strongly in a large part of Bolivia, as the same document considers it to be great in Arequipa. Montessus uses Perrey's data (1857), but he strongly assesses them in view of the contradictions Perrey incurs. (reference #14057)

1831 Oct 09. Peru, Arica, Arequipa (reference #1055)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1831 The 1800s Recent earthquakes near here This 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 1748.