May 1844 Earthquake: Rivas, Greytown, Nicaragua
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Rivas, Greytown, Nicaragua in May 1844. It caused a tsunami.
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
- May 1844
- Place
- Rivas, Greytown, Nicaragua
- Magnitude
- 7.4 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 11.200° N, 84.800° W
- Country
- Nicaragua
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million); Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with its tsunami and other effects
- Houses destroyed
- Few (about 1 to 50); Some (about 51 to 100) with its tsunami and other effects
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50); Some (about 51 to 100) with its tsunami and other effects
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.
Rios Negro and Tipitapa. Magnitude 7.0-7.7, intermediate (70 to 200 km) depth. (reference #1199)
Reference #273:
Ms 7.4 (Rojas, et al., 1993); M 7.0-7.9 (Leeds, 1974)
Rojas et al. 1993 (Jorgensen, 19663 Carr and Stoiber, 1977): "Desbordamiento del Lago de Nicaragua, muchas replicas" ("Overflow of Lake Nicaragua, lots of aftershocks")
Carr & Stoiber, 1977 (Montessus de Ballore, 1884): "Rivas destroyed. Seiches (?) in Lake Nicaragua during long swarn."
Leeds (Montessus de Ballore, 1888; Crawford 1902; Milne 1912; Montando 1962): "In May 1844, widespread damage was reported from San Juan del Norte to Greytown. The town of Rivas was destroyed. Rio Negro, closed to navigation in 1835 by Cosiguina, was reopened. Rio Tipitapa (Lake Managua to Lake Nicaragua) was reopened, although no previous report indicating it was closed has been found. Lake Nicaragua cascaded through the rapids causing damage."
Reference #11948:
Period of earthquakes in Nicaragua. - Rio Negro, blind in 1835 by the eruption of Coseguina, reopened a path to the Ocean. Rivas was almost destroyed. Newspapers from Jamaica on August 24 report great damage in San Juan del Norte or Greytown. The waters of Lake Nicaragua went up and down with the tremors, causing great damage to its shores.
Costa Rica felt a jolt.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 23, 1972, Managua, Nicaragua
- March 31, 1930, Managua, Nicaragua
- May 4, 1910, Cartago, San Jose, Costa Rica
- December 30, 1952, Costa Rica
- April 14, 1973, Tilaran, Arenal, Rio Chiquito, Costa Rica
- January 8, 2009, La Paz, Costa Rica
- September 1, 1955, Costa Rica
- November 20, 2004, San Jose, Parrita, Quepos, Costa Rica
- July 6, 2000, Masaya, Nicaragua
- September 5, 2012, Nicoya, Costa Rica
- December 22, 1990, Alajuela, Santiago DE Puriscal, Costa Rica
- November 13, 2017, Jaco, Costa Rica
- October 5, 1950, Costa Rica-Nicaragua
- August 1844, San Juan del Norte(Greytown), Nicaragua
- June 9, 1881, San Jose, Costa Rica
More
Significant earthquakes of 1844The 1800sRecent earthquakes near here
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 10278.