July 9, 1950 Earthquake: Anboledas, Colombia
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Anboledas, Colombia on July 9, 1950 at 02:35:00 UTC, 15 km below the surface. It killed 300 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 9, 1950
- Time
- 02:35:00 UTC
- Place
- Anboledas, Colombia
- Magnitude
- 6.1 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 15 km (9 mi)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 7.790° N, 72.610° W
- Country
- Colombia
The toll
- Deaths
- 300
- Injuries
- Many (about 101 to 1,000); Very many (over 1,000) with its tsunami and other effects
- Damage
- $20 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.
Dates vary from July 8 to July 9, 1950. Deaths range from 20 to 300.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 18, 1875, Cucuta,san Cayetano,villa del Rosario, Colombia
- April 29, 1894, N Santander, Merida,tovar, Colombia, Venezuela
- February 3, 1610, La Grita,bailadores,merida, Venezuela
- February 26, 1849, Tachira (Lobatera), Venezuela
- July 29, 1967, Colombia
- October 18, 1981, Venezuela-N Colombia
- April 18, 1974, NE, Cepita, San Andreas, Colombia
- November 7, 2015, Merida, Venezuela
- November 22, 2015, Merida, Venezuela
- November 26, 1980, E, Venezuela, Colombia
- February 15, 1796, N Santander,pamplona, Colombia
- January 16, 1644, Merida, Pamploma,herran, Venezuela, Colombia
- March 16, 1644, Pamplona, San Cristobal, Colombia, Venezuela
- February 17, 1869, San Cristobal,tachira (Lobatera), Venezuela
- March 6, 1869, San Cristobal, Bogota, Venezuela, Colombia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1950The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1950Recent 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 3947.