Significant earthquakes of 1947

July 14, 1947 Earthquake: Pasto, Colombia

July 14, 1947 · M6 · 2 deaths

A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Pasto, Colombia on July 14, 1947 at 06:59:28 UTC, 10 km below the surface. It killed 2 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
July 14, 1947
Time
06:59:28 UTC
Place
Pasto, Colombia
Magnitude
6 (Mw)
Focal depth
10 km (6 mi)
Intensity
8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami
None recorded
Epicenter
1.300° N, 77.230° W
Country
Colombia

The toll

Deaths
2
Injuries
Few (about 1 to 50)
Damage
Moderate (about $1 to $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.

14 July 1947, 02:00 (local time), 1.3N 77.23W, magnitude 6 (Mw), depth 10 (reference #12870)

14 July 1947, 06:59:28 (UTC), 1.4N 77W, magnitude 5.5 (Ms), (reference #1205)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1947The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1947Recent 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 3855.