December 19, 1847 Earthquake: Lisbon, Portugal
An earthquake struck Lisbon, Portugal on December 19, 1847 at 06:00 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
- December 19, 1847
- Time
- 06:00 UTC
- Place
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Intensity
- 10 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 38.700° N, 9.200° W
- Country
- Portugal
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- Houses damaged
- Some (about 51 to 100)
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.
December 19, 1847, intensity 9.5. Jolts in all Portugal and in particular Lisbon. Houses destroyed at Salvaterra de Magos on the Tage. (reference #1093)
December 19, 1847, earthquakes in Lisbon at 06:00 and 08:14 (local time), 38.7 N, -9.2 W. (reference #1193)
December 19, 1847, earthquake in Spain (Alava), Ordona and (Delica), intensity I which corresponds to an earthquake of intensity sufficient to crack walls, break chimneys,
to shatter old buildings or to produce cracks in the ground. (reference #1055)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- January 26, 1531, Lisbon, Portugal
- January 28, 1551, Lisbon, Portugal
- 1151, Lisbon, Portugal
- April 23, 1909, Ribatejo, Benavente, Portugal
- June 6, 1807, Lisbon, Portugal
- November 11, 1858, Setubal, Portugal
- March 6, 1719, Algarve, Spain, Portugal
- December 26, 1764, Lisbon, Portugal
- December 18, 1926, Lisbon, Portugal
- March 29, 1756, Lisbon, Portugal
- July 28, 1597, Monte Santo, Lisbon, Portugal
- July 22, 1598, Monte Santo, Lisbon, Portugal
- 1344, Lisbon, Portugal
- April 5, 1772, Lisbon, Portugal
- April 28, 1752, Buarcos, Aveiro, Portugal
More
Significant earthquakes of 1847The 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 7936.