February 16, 1922 Earthquake: Nicaragua
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Nicaragua on February 16, 1922 at 03:14:47 UTC, 25 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
- February 16, 1922
- Time
- 03:14:47 UTC
- Place
- Nicaragua
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (Mw)
- Magnitude scales
- Mw 6.4 · Ms 6.4
- Focal depth
- 25 km (16 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 11.317° N, 86.073° W
- Country
- Nicaragua
- Region
- Central America
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
Mw: moment magnitude, based on the slip on the fault and the area that slipped. Ms: surface-wave magnitude. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.
The toll
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 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.
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1199 Leeds, David J. (1974). Catalog of Nicaraguan Earthquakes 1520-1973. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, vol. 64, no. 4, p. 1135-1158.
- #7896 Ambraseys, N.N. (1995). Magnitudes of Central American earthquakes 1898-1930. Geophysical Journal International, vol. 121, no. 2, p. 545-556.
- #10476 International Seismological Centre (2013). Final Scientific Report of the ISC-GEM Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue, ISC-GEM Global Instrumental earthquake Catalogue (1900-2021). Versions 1-12 downloaded beginning 18 March 2013. DOI: 10.31905/D808B825
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 23, 1972, Managua, Nicaragua
- March 31, 1930, Managua, Nicaragua
- September 2, 1992, Masachapa, Costa Rica, Nicaragua
- April 14, 1973, Tilaran, Arenal, Rio Chiquito, Costa Rica
- July 6, 2000, Masaya, Nicaragua
- April 10, 2014, Nagarote, Managua, Nicaragua
- September 5, 2012, Nicoya, Costa Rica
- September 28, 2016, Leon, Nicaragua
- April 29, 1881, San Juan del Sur,chinandega,managua, Nicaragua
- February 27, 1916, Off Coast, Nicaragua
- December 16, 1985, Rivas, Masaya, Nicaragua
- October 8, 1901, Nicaragua
- October 24, 1956, Off Coast, Nicaragua
- April 29, 1898, Leon, Chinandega, Managua, Nicaragua
- January 4, 1968, Managua, Nicaragua
More
Significant earthquakes of 1922The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1922Recent 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 3190. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event iscgem911826, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.