January 3, 1920 Earthquake: Patlanala, Cozautlan, Puebla, Veracruz, Mexico
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Patlanala, Cozautlan, Puebla, Veracruz, Mexico on January 3, 1920 at 21:48:03 UTC. It killed 648 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
- January 3, 1920
- Time
- 21:48:03 UTC
- Place
- Patlanala, Cozautlan, Puebla, Veracruz, Mexico
- Magnitude
- 7.8 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 10 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 19.260° N, 96.970° W
- Country
- Mexico
The toll
- Deaths
- 648
- Injuries
- 167
- 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 #1234 lists earthquake on Jan 3, 1920, 21:48:03 UTC at 19.27 N, 96.97 W, magnitude 7.8, intensity X, that caused destruction in Patlanal and Chilchotla, Pue, Cozautlan, Ver. Falla de Oxochoacan.
Reference #1142 lists intensity XI-XII in Chilchotla, Pue and Quimixtlau, Pue and 648 deaths, 167 injuries.
Reference #1002 lists earthquake on Jan 3, 1920, in Oxochoacb, Puebla.
Reference #1173 lists earthquake on Jan 4, 1920, in Veracruz that caused 4000 deaths.
Reference #13997 states landslides on mountain slopes and leaving 430 dead.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- August 28, 1973, Veracruz, Mexico City
- September 19, 2017, Mexico City, Morelos, Puebla
- October 24, 1980, S, Huajapan DE Leon, Oaxaca, Mexico
- July 26, 1937, Esperanza, Veracruz, Central, Puebla, Mexico
- June 15, 1999, Puebla, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Morelos, Guerrero, Mexico
- 1523, Veracruz, Mexico
- January 2, 1866, Puebla, Veracruz, Mexico
- July 30, 1667, Puebla, Mexico
- January 30, 2002, San Andres Tuxtla, Tuxtepec, Veracruz, Mexico
- February 10, 1928, Oaxaca,colima,puebla,guerrero,morelos, Mexico
- April 16, 1928, Oaxaca, Mexico
More
Significant earthquakes of 1920The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1920Recent 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 3148.