August 12, 1834 Earthquake: Merida, Venezuela
An earthquake struck Merida, Venezuela on August 12, 1834 at 15:30:00 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
- August 12, 1834
- Time
- 15:30:00 UTC
- Place
- Merida, Venezuela
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 8.800° N, 70.900° W
- Country
- Venezuela
The toll
- Deaths
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.
Local earthquake in Santo Domingo del Canton Mucuchies, jurisdiction of Merida. It was strongly felt in this city and other towns in the Andes mountain range, where there were victims. Febres Cordero (1931) gives the date as July 12 and notes that there was damage in Mucuchies. (reference #124)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- April 29, 1894, N Santander, Merida,tovar, Colombia, Venezuela
- August 3, 1950, El Tocuyo, Venezuela
- February 3, 1610, La Grita,bailadores,merida, Venezuela
- October 18, 1981, Venezuela-N Colombia
- June 26, 1870, El Tocuyo, Venezuela
- April 5, 1975, Venezuela
- November 22, 2015, Merida, Venezuela
- November 7, 2015, Merida, Venezuela
- 1786, Merida, Venezuela
- December 1775, Trujillo, Venezuela
- September 29, 1886, Trujillo, Venezuela
- April 3, 2018, Merida, Venezuela
- November 4, 1894, Carache, Venezuela
- November 17, 1888, Guanare, Venezuela
- August 17, 1991, Barquisimeto, Venezuela
More
Significant earthquakes of 1834The 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 1772.