January 25, 1849 Earthquake: Guam, US Territories

Reference #482:

1849, January 25, 5:10, UT. At 2:49 P.M. local time as reported by the Governor to his superiors, a great earthquake occurred which lasted one and a half minutes and caused great damage. Aftershocks continued every four to eight minutes until 11 o'clock that night. They began again at 2:30 A.M. local time and continued for weeks. About 150 felt earthquakes were noted by March 11. The population was fearful that they were on a volcano and the island might explode or sink. Sand boils discharging sea water opened up cavities which had measured depths of one to six yards. Twelve to seventeen of the cavities were in a line parallel to the river by Santa Cruz just south of Agana. The only reported loss of life was to Josefa Lujan, a woman caught by one of the three reported tsunami waves, near the Talofofo River. She was from Agana and going to Inarajan.

Reference #414:

1849, January 24 (or 25), 14:30 (or 14:56). Magnitude 7.5. There was a destructive earthquake on the Mariana Islands. All stone structures on Guam island were left in ruins: a church, a church townhouse, the seminary at Agana, churches at Umatac, Pago, and Atac and many homes. Enormous cracks opened up in the ground at many places. A tsunami occurred. [The tsunami was generated by an earthquake on the 24th or the 25th.] The earthquake was followed by an enormous number of recurrent shocks. No less than 128 were counted before March 11. The strongest were the shocks of January 27 at 8:00 and February 27 at 8.37. The aftershocks caused new victims and panic among the inhabitants, who feared that their island would be swallowed up by the sea. One of the eyewitnesses, who was on board a ship riding in the bay, gave the following account of the effects of the main earthquake and the tsunami in Umatac Bay: "I had never before experienced anything like it. The tremor lasted about a minute and continued at night with seven shocks, much less strong. The last of them occurred at dawn on January 25. The first, main earthquake began with an exceptional trembling of the water, which was then transmitted to the land. The displacements of the ground were so large that all stone and brick buildings suffered to some extent, and many completely collapsed."

Reference #1072:

1849, January 25, 14:56 local time, intensity IX. Destructive earthquake. Laid in ruins all the masonry buildings on the islands--the church, convento, and college at Agana, the churches at Umata, Pago, and Agat, together with a great number of houses. Immense fissures opened in many places,and an extraordinary commotion of short duration was observed in the sea. There followed countless aftershocks, some of them very intense; from January 25 to March 11 no fewer than 15 were actually counted.

Reference #1055:

1849, January 25, 06:56 GMT. Philippines, Ladrones Islands, Guam Island, Bay of Uhmata, Agana, intensity III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed towns and devastated districts.