May 24, 1959 Earthquake: Oaxaca,, Mexico
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Oaxaca,, Mexico on May 24, 1959 at 19:17:00 UTC, 100 km below the surface.
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
- May 24, 1959
- Time
- 19:17:00 UTC
- Place
- Oaxaca,, Mexico
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Focal depth
- 100 km (62 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 17.000° N, 96.300° W
- Country
- Mexico
The toll
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 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.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- August 28, 1973, Veracruz, Mexico City
- September 30, 1999, Oaxaca, Mexico
- July 26, 1937, Esperanza, Veracruz, Central, Puebla, Mexico
- May 11, 1870, Oaxaca,zanaguia,san Francisco Ozolotepec, Mexico
- June 15, 1999, Puebla, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Morelos, Guerrero, Mexico
- August 2, 1968, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Mexico
- February 16, 2018, Oaxaca, Mexico
- June 23, 2020, Oaxaca, Mexico
- November 29, 1978, Oaxaca, Mexico
- October 5, 1801, Oaxaca, Mexico
- August 23, 1965, Mexico City, Oaxaca
- September 23, 2017, Oaxaca, Mexico
- June 17, 1928, Oaxaca, Mexico
- May 5, 1854, Veracruz,oaxaca, Mexico
- July 29, 2014, Oaxaca, Mexico
More
Significant earthquakes of 1959The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1959Recent 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 4194.