December 20, 1961 Earthquake: Eje Cafetero, Colombia
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Eje Cafetero, Colombia on December 20, 1961 at 13:25:00 UTC, 163 km below the surface. It killed 23 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
- December 20, 1961
- Time
- 13:25:00 UTC
- Place
- Eje Cafetero, Colombia
- Magnitude
- 6.8 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 163 km (101 mi)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 4.490° N, 75.510° W
- Country
- Colombia
The toll
- Deaths
- 23
- Injuries
- 100
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- Houses damaged
- Some (about 51 to 100)
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.
The earthquake of 20 December 1961 caused major damage and casualties in the districts of Antioquia and Caldas: at Sonon, 14 people attending a religious service were buried when the church roof fell in; in Armenia there were 3 killed and several injured; in all, 23 dead, 100 injured (“Seismological Notes”, Bull. Seismol. SOC Amer., Vol. 52, p. 696). (reference #1040)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- January 25, 1999, Armenia, Calarca, Pereira, Caldas, Huila, Colombia
- February 19, 1845, Magdalena River, Colombia
- June 6, 1994, Cauca, Huila, Colombia
- June 16, 1805, Honda,mariquita, Colombia
- February 9, 1967, Huila, Neiva, Rivera,san Antonio, Colombia
- November 23, 1979, Manizales-Armenia, Colombia
- July 30, 1962, Mistrato, Manizales, Colombia
- February 8, 1995, Cali, Pereira, Armenia, Calarca, Colombia
- July 12, 1785, Bogota,engativa,caxica,soacha, Colombia
- February 5, 1938, Eje Cafetero, Colombia
- September 4, 1966, Colombia
- May 24, 2008, Meta, Quetame, Colombia
- August 31, 1917, Bogota, Ubaque, Soacha, Caqueza, Colombia
- January 19, 2024, Valle del Cauca, Colombia
- January 26, 2019, Cauca, Huila, Colombia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1961The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1961Recent 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 4254.