March 4, 1873 Earthquake: Santa Tomas, San Vicente, El Salvador
An earthquake struck Santa Tomas, San Vicente, El Salvador on March 4, 1873. It killed 800 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
- March 4, 1873
- Place
- Santa Tomas, San Vicente, El Salvador
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 13.640° N, 89.130° W
- Country
- El Salvador
The toll
- Deaths
- 800
- Damage
- Extreme (about $25 million or more)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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.
1873, March 4. Only 15 houses remained standing. Epicenter presumably near Santa Tomas. (Reference #1554).
1873, March 4. San Salvador, Santo Tomas, Soyapango, Tonacatepeque, San Martin, Apopa, Mejicanos, Aculhuaca, Paleca, San Sebastian Texincal. Partial destruction of the capital and almost complete of the other populations mentioned. (reference #1196)
1873, March 5. Salvador, San Salvador, St. Vincent. Intensity II which corresponds to buildings may be unroofed or shattered and some may fall, the ground may be badly cracked in places and small landslips occur. (reference #1055)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- February 4, 1976, Chimaltenango, Guatemala City
- December 26, 1917, Guatemala City
- October 10, 1986, San Salvador, El Salvador
- May 6, 1951, Jucuapa, El Salvador
- April 14, 1854, San Salvador, El Salvador
- January 13, 2001, El Salvador, Guatemala
- December 19, 1936, San Vicente, El Salvador
- February 13, 2001, San Juan Tepezontes-San Vicente-Cojutep, El Salvador
- April 11, 1873, Salvador,san Vicente, El Salvador
- September 3, 1874, Antigua,chimaltenango,amatitlan, Guatemala
- February 26, 1902, El Salvador-Guatemala
- May 3, 1965, San Marcos, El Salvador
- April 20, 1765, Chiquimula, El Salvador, Guatemala
- June 19, 1982, San Salvador, Guatemala, El Salvador
- April 21, 1594, San Salvador, El Salvador
More
Significant earthquakes of 1873The 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 2206.