September 2, 1841 Earthquake: Cartago, Nicaragua, Costa Rica

Date

September 2, 1841

Time

12:15:00 UTC

Place

Cartago, Nicaragua, Costa Rica

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

10.000° N, 84.000° W

Country

Costa Rica

Deaths

Many (about 101 to 1,000)

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.

• May 4, 1910, Cartago, San Jose, Costa RicaM6.4 · 700 deaths · 0 km
• April 22, 1991, Limon, Pandora, Panama, Costa RicaM7.6 · 90 deaths · $510 million · 107 km
• December 30, 1952, Costa Rica29 deaths · 64 km
• April 14, 1973, Tilaran, Arenal, Rio Chiquito, Costa RicaM6.5 · 26 deaths · $200,000 · 112 km
• January 8, 2009, La Paz, Costa RicaM6.1 · 23 deaths · $502 million · 518 houses destroyed · 28 km
• September 1, 1955, Costa RicaM5.8 · 10 deaths · 55 km
• November 20, 2004, San Jose, Parrita, Quepos, Costa RicaM6.4 · 8 deaths · 526 houses destroyed · 48 km
• December 5, 1941, Costa Rica-PanamaM7.6 · 6 deaths · 169 km
• April 3, 1983, W, SE, Panama, Costa RicaM7.5 · 6 deaths · $1 million · 177 km
• December 22, 1990, Alajuela, Santiago DE Puriscal, Costa RicaM5.7 · 2 deaths · $19.5 million · 36 km
• July 10, 1993, Turrialba, Cartago, Costa RicaM5.8 · 2 deaths · 46 km
• July 3, 1983, San Jose, Costa RicaM6.2 · 2 deaths · $5 million · 52 km
• November 13, 2017, Jaco, Costa RicaM6.5 · 2 deaths · 76 km
• September 5, 2012, Nicoya, Costa RicaM7.6 · 2 deaths · $45 million · 144 km
• December 30, 1888, San Jose, Ala Juela, Heredia, Costa RicaDeaths: few · 1,439 houses destroyed · 12 km

Significant earthquakes of 1841The 1800sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

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 1831.