May 14, 1942 Earthquake: Guayaquil, Ecuador
A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck Guayaquil, Ecuador on May 14, 1942 at 02:13:00 UTC, 30 km below the surface. It killed 200 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
- May 14, 1942
- Time
- 02:13:00 UTC
- Place
- Guayaquil, Ecuador
- Magnitude
- 7.9 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 30 km (19 mi)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 0.750° S, 81.500° W
- Country
- Ecuador
The toll
- Deaths
- 200
- Damage
- $2.5 million
- Houses destroyed
- 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.
May 13, 1942, 02:13.4 UTC, 0.3 S, 80 W, 200 deaths, $2.5 million damage. (reference #45)
May 13, 1942, a destructive earthquake shook the litoral populations principally QUAYAQUIL, Portoviejo, Bahia de Caraquez, Manta, Junln, etc. The earthquake caused numerous victims and destruction of buildings principally in
Guayaquil, Portoviejo and Guaranda. The epicentre was localizated in the Pacific Ocean with an hipocentre of 50 - 60 kilometers deep. (reference #1106)
May 14, 1942, 02:13:18 UTC, 0.75 S, 81.5 W, depth 25 km, magnitude 7.9 MS, intensity IX. (reference #1207)
May 14, 1942, 02:13:18 UTC, 1.946 S, 80.561 W, depth 30 km, magnitude 8.3 MS, intensity IX. (reference #1220)
May 14, 1942, 02:13:18 UTC, 0.8 S, 81.5 S, shallow depth, magnitude 8.3 MS. (reference #88)
May 14, 1942, 02:13:18 UTC, 0.75 S, 81.5 W, magnitude 7.9 MS. (reference #130)
May 14, 1942, 02:13:18 UTC, 0.75 S, 81.5 W, magnitude 8.3 MS. (reference #1006)
May 14, 1942, off Ecuador, magnitude 8.3 MS. (reference #1002)
May 14, 1942, 02:13:18 UTC, 0.75 S, 81.5 S, magnitude 7.9 MS, 7.7 mb. (reference #1092)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1942The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1942Recent 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 3699.