January 15, 1958 Earthquake: Arequipa, Peru
A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Arequipa, Peru on January 15, 1958 at 19:14:31 UTC, 64 km below the surface. It killed 28 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
- January 15, 1958
- Time
- 19:14:31 UTC
- Place
- Arequipa, Peru
- Magnitude
- 7 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 64 km (40 mi)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 16.250° S, 72.242° W
- Country
- Peru
The toll
- Deaths
- 28
- Injuries
- 133
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- 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 #1208 lists magnitude 7 Ms and MMI IX.
Reference #1111 lists magnitude 7.3, MMI VII, and 28 deaths and 133 injuries..
28 killed, many injured and extensive damage in Mejia. Depth about 60 km. Mag. 7.3. (reference #45)
Important destructive earthquake in the Peruvian Andes, in the neighbourhood of Arequipa: the villages of Miraflores and Tiabaya were’ almost completely destroyed; 29 dead, 150 injured; 70 per cent of the buildings in Arequipa were damaged ; cracks appeared in the churches, water pipes were broken (press reports; Ochoa and Stauder, 1964; “Seismological Notes”, Bull. Seismol. SOC. Amer., Vol. 48, 1958, p, 283). (reference #1040)
28 dead (reference #1250)
Referece #10476 (v.10) lists 1958-01-15 19:14:31.32 UTC, 16.625 S 72.242 W, magnitude 7 Mw
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- February 19, 1600, Volcan Huaynaputina, Peru
- May 13, 1784, Arequipa,camana,moquegua,tambo, Peru
- July 10, 1821, Camana, Ocona, Caraveli, Peru
- June 23, 2001, Arequipa, Moquegua, Tacna, Ayacucho, Peru
- July 23, 1991, Maca, Chivay, Yanque, Peru
- January 13, 1960, Arequipa,chuquibamba,caraveli,cotahuasi, Peru
- January 22, 1582, Socabaya,arequipa, Peru
- December 2, 1914, Pararca,paysa,colta,oyala, Peru
- February 16, 1979, Arequipa, Peru
- August 15, 2016, Arequipa, Peru
- July 8, 2008, Arequipa, Peru
- April 3, 1999, Camana, Arequipa, Peru
- October 9, 1955, Mungui,la Union Prov,arequipa,toro,cotahuasi, Peru
- August 11, 2017, Arequipa, Peru
- July 7, 2001, Arequipa, Arica, Peru
More
Significant earthquakes of 1958The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1958Recent 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 4157.