January 16, 1956 Earthquake: Ecuador

Date

January 16, 1956

Time

23:37:00 UTC

Place

Ecuador

Magnitude

7.3

Intensity

9 on the Modified Mercalli scale

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

0.500° S, 80.500° W

Country

Ecuador

Damage

Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)

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.

• April 16, 2016, Manabi, Esmeraldas, Near West Coast, EcuadorM7.8 · 663 deaths · $3.3 billion · 6,998 houses destroyed · 117 km
• May 14, 1942, Guayaquil, EcuadorM7.9 · 200 deaths · $2.5 million · 115 km
• April 9, 1976, Esmeraldos, EcuadorM6.7 · 10 deaths · $4 million · 162 km
• August 18, 1980, W, Guayaquil, EcuadorM5.6 · 8 deaths · $5 million · 170 km
• August 4, 1998, Bahia DE Caraquez, Canoa, EcuadorM7.2 · 3 deaths · 16 km
• December 19, 2016, Esmeraldas, EcuadorM5.4 · 3 deaths · 10 houses destroyed · 176 km
• May 18, 2016, Manabi Province, EcuadorM6.9 · 1 death · 148 km
• March 27, 2022, Esmeraldas, EcuadorM5.8 · 1 death · 779 houses destroyed · 185 km
• July 14, 2022, Guayas, EcuadorM5.7 · 1 death · 188 km
• November 1, 1904, EcuadorM7.7 · 56 km
• January 24, 2005, Puerto Lopez, Salango, Near West Coast, EcuadorM6.1 · 101 km
• October 2, 1933, EcuadorM6.9 · 176 km
• February 7, 1906, Colombia-Ecuador176 km
• January 30, 1943, Guayaquil, EcuadorM6.9 · 178 km
• September 15, 1944, Cotopaxi, EcuadorM5.5 · 195 km

Significant earthquakes of 1956The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1956Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

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 4089.