January 30, 1950 Earthquake: Southern, Chile

Name: January 30, 1950 Earthquake: Southern, Chile
Start: 1950-01-30
Location: Southern, Chile

January 30, 1950 · M7 · Deaths: few

A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Southern, Chile on January 30, 1950 at 00:56:32 UTC, 33 km below the surface. It caused a tsunami.

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: January 30, 1950
Time: 00:56:32 UTC
Place: Southern, Chile
Magnitude: 7 (Ms)
Focal depth: 33 km (21 mi)
Intensity: 6 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Epicenter: 53.500° S, 71.500° W
Country: Chile

The toll

Deaths: Few (about 1 to 50)

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.

January 30, 1950, 00:56:32 UTC, 53.5 S, 71.5 W, shallow depth, magnitude 7.0 MS. (reference #88)

January 30, 1950, 00:56:32 UTC, 53.5 S, 71.5 W, magnitude 7.0 MS, intensity VI, casualties. (reference #1206)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1950 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1950 Recent earthquakes near here This 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 6588.