May 18, 1875 Earthquake: Cucuta,san Cayetano,villa del Rosario, Colombia

Dates for this earthquake vary from May 16, 1875 10:10 UTC to May 18, 1875 16;30 UTC. Deaths vary from 461 to 16,000.

1875, May 18, 16:15 UTC. 7.9 N, 72.5 W, depth 20 km, magnitude 7.3. (reference #1205)

1875, May 18, 16:25 UTC. 7.893 N, 72.5 W, depth 20 km, magnitude 7.5, intensity X. (reference #1219)

1875, May 18. Cucuta, Colombia, 10,000 deaths. (reference #1051)

1875, May 16-18. On the later date at 11 a.m. Colombia and Venezuela, Seberatina, Cucuta, San Cateano, Santiago, P. de Arboletes, San Cristobal, S. Antonio, Capacho, Coasimo, Verena, Tarida, Rosario, Salazar, 16,000 lives lost. Intensity III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed towns and devastated districts. (reference #1055)

1875, May 16-18. San Jose de Cucuta and other towns near Santanter, on the boundary of Colombia; destroyed; about 14,000 lives said to be lost. (reference #1073)

1875, May 18. On this day a.m. villa at Rosario

and San Jose de Cucuta were completely destroyed by

The most disastrous earthquake in Colombia. La Villa del Rosario was a historic and quiet. In 1821 he had gathered in the sacristy of his church, medium build, members of Congress from the Great Colombia. It had been founded in 1750 and enjoyed the royal title villa from the late eighteenth century. Almost all the houses were Spanish colonial style, with clay tile, wall walls and courtyards. In the 1870 census it had estimated 4497 inhabitants and comprised an area of ​​7 blocks... The great earthquake, already famous in Colombia took place on May 18, 1875, and the church clock was found on the floor marking even the fateful hour: 11:15 in the morning. Witnesses report that, without exaggeration, lasted between 40 and 50 seconds and it was time to make several trips from inside the house into the street to rescue children and sick. About the number of victims there are some exaggerations. Some say it rose to 2000 others say that the list of the dead was 900 to 1000. However, the number of bodies pulled from the ruins and counted were women: 253, men: 208, total: 461. (reference #1118)