April 29, 1894 Earthquake: N Santander, Merida,tovar, Colombia, Venezuela
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck N Santander, Merida,tovar, Colombia, Venezuela on April 29, 1894 at 02:45:00 UTC, 20 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 29, 1894
- Time
- 02:45:00 UTC
- Place
- N Santander, Merida,tovar, Colombia, Venezuela
- Magnitude
- 7.1 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 20 km (12 mi)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 8.500° N, 71.700° W
- Country
- Venezuela
The toll
- Deaths
- 400
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.
Deaths: Merida 4, Santa Cruz, 115, Zea 69, Tovar 50, Mesa Bolivar 51, Lagunillas 21, Chiguara 9 and others. Total 319. The losses were immense; according to Febres, Cordero (1975), the aid sent amounted to Bs. 253,750, apart from other aid for which there is no record. (reference #124)
More than 400 deaths (#1211)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 18, 1875, Cucuta,san Cayetano,villa del Rosario, Colombia
- July 9, 1950, Anboledas, Colombia
- February 3, 1610, La Grita,bailadores,merida, Venezuela
- February 26, 1849, Tachira (Lobatera), Venezuela
- October 18, 1981, Venezuela-N Colombia
- November 7, 2015, Merida, Venezuela
- November 22, 2015, Merida, Venezuela
- April 3, 2018, Merida, Venezuela
- 1786, Merida, Venezuela
- August 12, 1834, Merida, Venezuela
- November 26, 1980, E, Venezuela, Colombia
- February 17, 1869, San Cristobal,tachira (Lobatera), Venezuela
- January 16, 1644, Merida, Pamploma,herran, Venezuela, Colombia
- February 15, 1796, N Santander,pamplona, Colombia
- December 1775, Trujillo, Venezuela
More
Significant earthquakes of 1894The 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 2448.