February 20, 1940 Earthquake: Corinto,chinandega, Nicaragua

Date

February 20, 1940

Place

Corinto,chinandega, Nicaragua

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

12.500° N, 87.500° W

Country

Nicaragua

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.

• December 23, 1972, Managua, NicaraguaM6.2 · 10,000 deaths · $3 billion · 152 km
• May 6, 1951, Jucuapa, El SalvadorM6.5 · 1,100 deaths · $23 million · 64 km
• March 31, 1930, Managua, Nicaragua1,000 deaths · $15 million · 148 km
• January 13, 2001, El Salvador, GuatemalaM7.7 · 844 deaths · $753 million · 108,226 houses destroyed · 140 km
• December 19, 1936, San Vicente, El Salvador400 deaths · 152 km
• September 2, 1992, Masachapa, Costa Rica, NicaraguaM7.6 · 170 deaths · $30 million · 1,500 houses destroyed · 112 km
• July 6, 2000, Masaya, NicaraguaM5.4 · 7 deaths · 357 houses destroyed · 178 km
• May 21, 1932, El Salvador, Honduras, NicaraguaM7.1 · 5 deaths · 87 km
• April 10, 2014, Nagarote, Managua, NicaraguaM6.1 · 2 deaths · $3 million · 168 houses destroyed · 122 km
• October 14, 2014, Gulf of Fonseca, El SalvadorM7.3 · 1 death · 5 houses destroyed · 68 km
• September 28, 2016, Leon, NicaraguaM5.5 · 1 death · 6 houses destroyed · 107 km
• May 8, 2001, Conchagua, El SalvadorM5.7 · 1 death · 84 houses destroyed · 186 km
• March 28, 1921, Nicaragua, El SalvadorM7.2 · 33 km
• January 12, 1937, Chinandega,port Corinto, Nicaragua34 km
• January 25, 1947, La Union, El Salvador, NicaraguaM6.2 · Deaths: some · 53 km

Significant earthquakes of 1940The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1940Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

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 3658.