January 31, 1906 Earthquake: Off Coast, Ecuador

Jan 31, 1906, 15:36 UTC, 1 N, 81.5 W, magnitude 8.6 MS. Catastrophic earthquake and strong tsunami with source off the coast of Ecuador and Colombia. The earthquake was preceded by several less severe shocks. At Guapi, two shocks were recorded: at approximately 7:00 and 9:00 on the 31st. The second was stronger and was felt as far as Guayaquil and Quito, although this shock was not noticed at Manta. The low-sensitivity Omori-Bosch seismograph at Quito registered the onset of seismic waves at 9:02, 9:08, 9:25 and 9:40; the second onset was so strong that the pen of the seismograph jumped from the drum. The shock at 9:00 damaged some structures at Esmeraldas and vicinity; all unsecured objects were overturned or shifted. Recurrent aftershocks were felt at least until the end of March.

At the time of the earthquake, a resident of Tumaco was standing outside his home...Suddenly, very strong oscillations began and everybody fell to the ground (according to other sources, the intensity of the oscillations gradually increased). The entire island on which the city is situated appeared to move, and houses rose and fell like ships on a furious sea. It was impossible to move...Only four wooden homes and several bamboo huts collapsed. Had the city not been built up exclusively of wooden homes, it evidently would have been left entirely in ruins.

(Above ref #415)

Magnitude 8.6 MS, 8.8 Mw. (ref #1314)

Jan 31 15h 24min at 1N, 80W, magnitude 7.66; and Jan 31 15h 37min at 2.378N, 79.308W, magnitude 8.9 (ref #1219)

Ramirez (1968) lists intensity as XII. Miyamura (1985) list the deaths as 1000; Ramirez (#1118) lists deaths as 400.

Jan 31, 1906, 15:36:00 UTC, 1 N, 81.5 w, shallow depth, magnitude 8.9 Ms (ref #88)

Jan 31, 1906, 15:36.0 UTC, 1 N, 81.5 W, magnitude 8.6 MS (ref #130)

Jan 31, 1906, 15:36 UTC, 1 N, 81.5 W, magnitude 8.9, 1000 deaths (ref #1003)

Jan 31, 1906, 10h 35min 51sec. In Tumaco, 0 deg 50 min 20 sec N, 81 deg 32 min 40 sec W (ref #1118)

Guayaquil, Ecuador. February 15. The first shock of the earthquake which caused so much damage and loss of life in the province of Esmeraldas was felt at 10 o'clock on Jan. 31st, the disturbance continuing at short intervals until Feb. 6th. The inhabitants, panic-stricken, abandoned their homes and families and are still living in the open air, fearing a repetition of the shocks. In the neighborhood of Port Limon four small islands disappeared. These islands were inhabited by fishermen, who escaped in small boats, which they were at sea for three days, until the water became sufficiently calm to enable them to reach the mainland. The city of Esmeraldas was nearly inundated by a tidal wave which entered the port, flooding the principal streets. All the inhabitants ran for the mountains in the neighborhood. All the towns in the provinces of Esmeraldas and Manabi were greatly damaged. Most of the inhabitants are homeless. At the Colombian towns of Mosquera, San Juan and Domingoritz more than 300 persons perished (ref #8876)

1906, Jan 31, 15:36:00 UTC. 81.5 S, 104 E, magnitude 8.8 M GSX, 8.6 Mw P&S, 8.2 Ms AN2, 8.2 mB ABE1, 8.6 UK G&R, 8.9 UK PAS (ref #9910)

1906-01-31 15:36:11.16 UTC. 0.988 N, 79.347 W, 20 km depth, 8.45 Mw (ref #10476, v 9.1)

1906-01-31 15:36:10 UTC. 0.955 N, 79.369 W, 20 km depth, 8.8 Mw (ref #13456, #13546)

[...] the Mw of the earthquake ranged from 8.3 to 8.6. The newly defined presence of a local large slip area in the northern part of the source region is supported by the historical seismicity and the earthquake/ tsunami damage that occurred along the coast of Colombia (ref #12055)

31 Jan 1906, 10:36 am (15:36 UT). 8.8 Mw. 1.5°N 80°W, 35 km depth. Two precursor earthquakes occurred, approximately at 7:00 and 9:00 in the morning of January 31, strongly felt on the Colombian and Ecuadorian coasts. (ref #12172)