Significant earthquakes of 1886

September 29, 1886 Earthquake: Trujillo, Venezuela

September 29, 1886 · M5.6

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Trujillo, Venezuela on September 29, 1886 at 06:50:00 UTC, 14 km below the surface.

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
September 29, 1886
Time
06:50:00 UTC
Place
Trujillo, Venezuela
Magnitude
5.6 (Ms)
Focal depth
14 km (9 mi)
Intensity
7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami
None recorded
Epicenter
9.300° N, 70.400° W
Country
Venezuela

The toll

Damage
Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
Houses damaged
Some (about 51 to 100)

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.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1886The 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 2363.