September 15, 1944 Earthquake: Cotopaxi, Ecuador
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Cotopaxi, Ecuador on September 15, 1944 at 19:20:06 UTC.
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
- September 15, 1944
- Time
- 19:20:06 UTC
- Place
- Cotopaxi, Ecuador
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 0.498° S, 78.750° W
- Country
- Ecuador
The toll
- 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.
Reference #1127 lists at 14h. 20m. 01s of September 15 the largest of the seismic movements registered that caused very serious damages in the populations of the province of Cotopaxi; but, mainly, in Pastocalle where all the houses collapsed in the panic of its inhabitants. Likewise, the towns of Toacaso, Saquisili, Lasso, suffered heavy damage to houses. The circumstance of occurring at a time when people were doing field work, this destructive earthquake did not caused deaths. Mulalo, Río Blanco, Quilche, Pucara are many other towns that have suffered damage on a smaller scale.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- August 16, 1868, San Pablo, Guayaquil,ibarra, Colombia, Ecuador
- February 4, 1797, Riobamba, Quito, Cuzco, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador
- June 20, 1698, Tungurahua,cotopaxi,chimborazo, Ecuador
- August 5, 1949, Tungurahua, Ecuador
- March 6, 1987, Napo Province, Quito, Tulcan, Ecuador
- February 1640, Ecuador
- February 22, 1757, Cotopaxi,tungurahua, Latacunga, Ecuador
- January 31, 1906, Off Coast, Ecuador
- April 16, 2016, Manabi, Esmeraldas, Near West Coast, Ecuador
- December 14, 1923, Ipiales, Colombia
- March 3, 1924, Ecuador
- March 28, 1996, Cotopaxi, Pastaza, Tungurahua, Ambato, Ecuador
- July 30, 1960, Ecuador
- April 9, 1976, Esmeraldos, Ecuador
- August 11, 1990, Pamasqui, Quito, Ecuador
More
Significant earthquakes of 1944The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1944Recent 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 10634.