December 14, 1923 Earthquake: Ipiales, Colombia
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Ipiales, Colombia on December 14, 1923 at 10:31 UTC, 10 km below the surface. It killed 300 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
- December 14, 1923
- Time
- 10:31 UTC
- Place
- Ipiales, Colombia
- Magnitude
- 6.2 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 10 km (6 mi)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 0.870° N, 77.780° W
- Country
- Colombia
The toll
- Deaths
- 300
- 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 #1118 states that in a letter from U.S. consul H. Samuel Piles: 200 or 300 deaths and 20,000 displaced without home. Property damages from a monetary value are small.
14 Dec 1923, 10:31:18, 1.0N 77W, magnitude 7.0 (Ms) (reference #1205)
14 Dec 1923, 05:31 (local time), 0.87N 77.78W, magnitude 6.2 (Mw), depth 10 (reference #12870)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- August 16, 1868, San Pablo, Guayaquil,ibarra, Colombia, Ecuador
- March 6, 1987, Napo Province, Quito, Tulcan, Ecuador
- January 31, 1906, Off Coast, Ecuador
- December 12, 1979, Off Shore, Pacific Ocean, Colombia
- January 9, 1936, Colombia
- November 16, 1827, Bogota, Neiva, Popayan, Pasto, Huila, Colombia
- August 7, 1935, Funes, Colombia
- August 11, 1990, Pamasqui, Quito, Ecuador
- August 12, 2014, Quito, Ecuador
- June 12, 2018, Pasto, Colombia
- July 14, 1947, Pasto, Colombia
- August 15, 1868, El Angel, Concepcion, Ecuador
- July 25, 2022, Ecuador, Colombia
- February 9, 2013, Cauca, Narino, Valle del Cauca, Risaralda, Colombia
- March 1, 1834, Pasto, Colombia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1923The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1923Recent 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 3239.