Significant earthquakes of 1960

January 15, 1960 Earthquake: Lima,nazca,ica,huancavelic,palpa,huaitara, Peru

January 15, 1960 · M7.1

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Lima,nazca,ica,huancavelic,palpa,huaitara, Peru on January 15, 1960 at 09:30:21 UTC, 65 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
January 15, 1960
Time
09:30:21 UTC
Place
Lima,nazca,ica,huancavelic,palpa,huaitara, Peru
Magnitude
7.1 (Mw)
Focal depth
65 km (40 mi)
Tsunami
None recorded
Epicenter
15.008° S, 74.867° W
Country
Peru

The toll

Injuries
Few (about 1 to 50)
Damage
Limited (under about $1 million)
Houses destroyed
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.

4 injured and minor damage in lca province (reference #45)

Reference #13779 lists injuries

Reference #10476 (v.10) lists 1960-01-15 09:30:21.63 UTC, 15.008 N 74.867 W, magnitude 7.1 Mw

Note: some references lists impacts from 13 January 1960

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1960The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1960Recent 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 4213.