May 3, 1849 Earthquake: Maracaibo, Venezuela
An earthquake struck Maracaibo, Venezuela on May 3, 1849 at 10:00 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
- May 3, 1849
- Time
- 10:00 UTC
- Place
- Maracaibo, Venezuela
- Intensity
- 6 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 10.700° N, 71.600° W
- Country
- Venezuela
The toll
- 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.
1849, May 3. Venezuela, Maracaibo. 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.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1849The 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 1899.