September 4, 1966 Earthquake: Colombia
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Colombia on September 4, 1966 at 22:14:00 UTC, 15 km below the surface. It killed 6 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
- September 4, 1966
- Time
- 22:14:00 UTC
- Place
- Colombia
- Magnitude
- 5.3 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 15 km (9 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 4.620° N, 73.980° W
- Country
- Colombia
The toll
- Deaths
- 6
- Injuries
- 30
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 200
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.
- January 25, 1999, Armenia, Calarca, Pereira, Caldas, Huila, Colombia
- February 19, 1845, Magdalena River, Colombia
- June 16, 1805, Honda,mariquita, Colombia
- December 20, 1961, Eje Cafetero, Colombia
- July 12, 1785, Bogota,engativa,caxica,soacha, Colombia
- December 22, 1923, Gachala,gacheta,ubala,medina, Colombia
- January 19, 1995, Bogota, Manizales, Miraflores, Colombia
- May 24, 2008, Meta, Quetame, Colombia
- February 5, 1938, Eje Cafetero, Colombia
- August 31, 1917, Bogota, Ubaque, Soacha, Caqueza, Colombia
- August 17, 2023, Bogota, Boyaca, Cundinamarca, Meta,, Colombia
- September 18, 1900, Colombia
- August 8, 1903, Colombia
- July 11, 1906, Colombia
- July 14, 1906, Colombia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1966The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1966Recent 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 4378.