February 26, 1849 Earthquake: Tachira (Lobatera), Venezuela
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Tachira (Lobatera), Venezuela on February 26, 1849 at 09:30 UTC, 13 km below the surface. It killed 40 people.
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
- February 26, 1849
- Time
- 09:30 UTC
- Place
- Tachira (Lobatera), Venezuela
- Magnitude
- 6 (Ms)
- Magnitude scales
- Ms 6 · Unspecified 6
- Focal depth
- 13 km (8 mi)
- Intensity
- IX, violent shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 7.300° N, 72.300° W
- Country
- Venezuela
- Region
- South America
Ms: surface-wave magnitude. Unspecified: the method was not stated in the published sources. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.
The toll
- Deaths
- 40
- Injuries
- 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.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Damage in Lobatera and surrounding areas: 40 dead and many injured (Centeno, 1940). It was felt in Maracaibo and the Colombian region (Ramirez, 1975). The La Virgen and Buitrion hot springs changed location. The aftershocks continued until May 3, when there was a very strong tremor in Maracaibo (Febres Cordero, 1930). The founding of Michelena, in La Sabana, is due to this earthquake, as the population of Lobatera moved there. For that date, Ramirez (1975) reports an earthquake that affected the entire northeastern region of Colombia at 5 a.m.; He assigns it an intensity of III on the three-degree scale and locates the epicenter at 10.7 N - 71.6 W. For that same date and time, March 3, Centeno (1940) notes a devastating earthquake in Maracaibo that cracked houses and buildings; according to the news reports, there were deaths and injuries. (reference #124)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1209 Askew, B.L., and S.T. Algermissen (1985). Catalog of Earthquakes for South America, Hypocenter and Intensity Data, vol. 8 - Venezuela, Centro Regional de Sismologia para America del Sur, Lima, Peru.
- #124 Grases, Jose (1990). Terremotos Destructores del Caribe, 1502-1990. UNESCO-RELACIS, Montevideo.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 18, 1875, Cucuta,san Cayetano,villa del Rosario, Colombia
- April 29, 1894, N Santander, Merida,tovar, Colombia, Venezuela
- July 9, 1950, Anboledas, Colombia
- February 3, 1610, La Grita,bailadores,merida, Venezuela
- July 29, 1967, Colombia
- October 18, 1981, Venezuela-N Colombia
- April 18, 1974, NE, Cepita, San Andreas, Colombia
- November 7, 2015, Merida, Venezuela
- November 22, 2015, Merida, Venezuela
- February 17, 1869, San Cristobal,tachira (Lobatera), Venezuela
- January 16, 1644, Merida, Pamploma,herran, Venezuela, Colombia
- February 15, 1796, N Santander,pamplona, Colombia
- March 16, 1644, Pamplona, San Cristobal, Colombia, Venezuela
- December 31, 1868, Robador,simacota,barichara DE Cabrera, Colombia
- November 26, 1980, E, Venezuela, Colombia
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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 1897.