January 27, 1922 Earthquake: Sao Paulo, Brazil
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Sao Paulo, Brazil on January 27, 1922 at 06:50:40 UTC, 15 km below the surface. It killed 1 person.
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 27, 1922
- Time
- 06:50:40 UTC
- Place
- Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Magnitude
- 5.1 (mb)
- Focal depth
- 15 km (9 mi)
- Intensity
- VI, strong shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 22.170° S, 47.040° W
- Country
- Brazil
- Region
- South America
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50)
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 #13473 lists minor damage to buildings, several walls of private residences cracked, 1 fatality
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1204 Askew, B.L., and S.T. Algermissen (1985). Catalog of Earthquakes for South America, Hypocenter and Intensity Data, vol. 3 - Bolivia - Brazil, Centro Regional de Sismologia para America del Sur, Lima, Peru.
- #13473 BBC News (2022). The earthquake that terrified Sao Paulo 100 years ago. Published 27 January 2022. Link (In Portuguese)
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 10669.