January 9, 1936 Earthquake: Colombia
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Colombia on January 9, 1936 at 09:23:00 UTC, 10 km below the surface. It killed 250 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 9, 1936
- Time
- 09:23:00 UTC
- Place
- Colombia
- Magnitude
- 5.6 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 10 km (6 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 1.100° N, 77.600° W
- Country
- Colombia
The toll
- Deaths
- 250
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 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.
09 Jan 1936, 23:30 (local time), 1.1N 77.6W, magnitude 5.6 (mw), depth 10 (reference #12870)
A layer of land located at 2.85 meters above sea level and from 500 to 800 m long it slipped and obstructed the Sapuyes riverbed that runs 120 meters below the level of the table. Of the small, but prosperous hamlet of La Chorrera that was located on the plateau and its 250 to 300 inhabitants as well as its cattle and trees, there was hardly any trace left. (reference #1118)
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
- March 31, 1983, SW, Popayan, Colombia
- December 14, 1923, Ipiales, 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
- February 9, 2013, Cauca, Narino, Valle del Cauca, Risaralda, Colombia
- August 15, 1868, El Angel, Concepcion, Ecuador
- July 25, 2022, Ecuador, Colombia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1936The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1936Recent 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 3568.