April 12, 1878 Earthquake: Cua, Charallave, San Diego, Venezuela
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Cua, Charallave, San Diego, Venezuela on April 12, 1878 at 00:41:00 UTC, 13 km below the surface. It killed 400 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
- April 12, 1878
- Time
- 00:41:00 UTC
- Place
- Cua, Charallave, San Diego, Venezuela
- Magnitude
- 5.9 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 13 km (8 mi)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 10.300° N, 66.800° W
- Country
- Venezuela
The toll
- Deaths
- 400
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 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.
April 12, 1878, 20:41 local time, 10.3 N, 66.8 W, magnitude 5.9, intensity VIII-IX, depth 13 km. The earthquake caused damage in Charallave, San Diego, Santa Teresa, Yare, Santa Lucfa and Cua. In Caracas cracks in the walls of diverse buildings even took place. There were around 400 victims and many material damages. It was not perceived in Barcelona, the Tiger nor in the Andes. (reference #1502)
April 12, 1878, Venezuela, Cua, intensity III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed towns and devastated districts. (reference #1055)
April 14, 1878, Cua, Venezuela, nearly destroyed;
about 300 killed; loss about £30,000. (reference #1073)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- March 26, 1812, La Guaira, Venezuela
- June 24, 2026, Northern Venezuela
- July 30, 1967, Venezuela
- June 11, 1641, Caracas,la Guaira,cua, Venezuela
- October 29, 1900, Macuto, Venezuela
- September 10, 1837, Santa Teresa del Tuy,santa Lucia, Venezuela
- January 31, 1906, Caracas, Venezuela
- 1906, Maiquetia, Venezuela
- February 6, 1874, Northern Venezuela
- March 7, 1879, Curiepe,san Juan DE Los Morro, Venezuela
- November 12, 1916, Ocumare DE LA Costa DE Oro, Venezuela
- September 12, 2009, Carabobo, Venezuela
- May 4, 1989, Falcon, Carabobo, Caracas, Venezuela
More
Significant earthquakes of 1878The 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 2256.