February 5, 1938 Earthquake: Eje Cafetero, Colombia
A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Eje Cafetero, Colombia on February 5, 1938 at 02:23:34 UTC, 150 km below the surface. It killed 6 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
- February 5, 1938
- Time
- 02:23:34 UTC
- Place
- Eje Cafetero, Colombia
- Magnitude
- 7 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 150 km (93 mi)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 4.680° N, 75.690° W
- Country
- Colombia
The toll
- Deaths
- 6
- Injuries
- Many (about 101 to 1,000)
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
- Houses damaged
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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.
04 Feb 1938, 21:23 (local time), 4.68N 75.69W, magnitude 7 (Ms), depth 150. (reference #12870)
05 Feb 1938, 02:23:34 (UTC), 4.5N 76.3W, magnitude 7 (Ms). (reference #1205)
6 deaths and over 100 injured (reference #12872)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- January 25, 1999, Armenia, Calarca, Pereira, Caldas, Huila, Colombia
- February 19, 1845, Magdalena River, Colombia
- June 16, 1805, Honda,mariquita, Colombia
- November 23, 1979, Manizales-Armenia, Colombia
- July 30, 1962, Mistrato, Manizales, Colombia
- February 8, 1995, Cali, Pereira, Armenia, Calarca, Colombia
- December 20, 1961, Eje Cafetero, Colombia
- July 12, 1785, Bogota,engativa,caxica,soacha, Colombia
- September 4, 1966, Colombia
- March 1, 2021, Medellin, Betulia, Colombia
- November 19, 1991, Chaco, Buenaventura, Cali, Colombia
- January 19, 2024, Valle del Cauca, Colombia
- January 26, 2019, Cauca, Huila, Colombia
- February 9, 1878, Manizales, Colombia
- January 5, 2014, Sipi, Colombia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1938The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1938Recent 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 3611.