December 4, 1852 Earthquake: S. Mexico

On December (or November) 4, 1852 (mistakenly 1854) at 22:10 [local time] there was an "indescribable" earthquake, which struck and totally destroyed Acapulco. The earth shook with a terrible roar. Everybody was seized with terror. As far as one can judge, four or five shocks occurred in a second. Almost all the buildings collapsed, clouds of dust obscured the city, and the residents poured into the streets and squares of the city to avoid being buried in the ruins of their homes. Nothing remained of the city except heaps of ruins. Fortunately, it was not very late and almost no one had gone to bed. For this reason, only one person died, but many were slightly injured. Recurrent shocks at short intervals lasted all night. At Acapulco, the sea retreated about 6 m from shore, and the residents were very much afraid that it would return with greater force and flood them all; however, the regular sea level was gradually restored. (reference #415)