April 13, 1910 Earthquake: Cartago, Costa Rica
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck Cartago, Costa Rica on April 13, 1910.
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 13, 1910
- Place
- Cartago, Costa Rica
- Magnitude
- 5.8 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 9.800° N, 84.000° W
- Country
- Costa Rica
The toll
- 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.
Reference #1051 lists 1,750 deaths (like this number is for the 04 May 1910 main shock event)
Reference #14017 lists no deaths. Caused extensive damage, both in the urban center of Cartago and in neighboring towns. Several houses were so severely damaged that they were declared uninhabitable. In Llano Grande, San Rafael, and Tejar, some 40 houses were left in ruins and the church sustained significant damage.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 4, 1910, Cartago, San Jose, Costa Rica
- April 22, 1991, Limon, Pandora, Panama, Costa Rica
- December 30, 1952, Costa Rica
- April 14, 1973, Tilaran, Arenal, Rio Chiquito, Costa Rica
- January 8, 2009, La Paz, Costa Rica
- September 1, 1955, Costa Rica
- November 20, 2004, San Jose, Parrita, Quepos, Costa Rica
- December 5, 1941, Costa Rica-Panama
- April 3, 1983, W, SE, Panama, Costa Rica
- December 22, 1990, Alajuela, Santiago DE Puriscal, Costa Rica
- July 3, 1983, San Jose, Costa Rica
- July 10, 1993, Turrialba, Cartago, Costa Rica
- November 13, 2017, Jaco, Costa Rica
- September 5, 2012, Nicoya, Costa Rica
- August 9, 1991, Cartago, Costa Rica
More
Significant earthquakes of 1910The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1910Recent 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 2902.