April 24, 1973 Earthquake: Colombia, San Cristobal, Venezuela
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Colombia, San Cristobal, Venezuela on April 24, 1973 at 21:30:09 UTC, 50 km below the surface. It killed 1 person.
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
- April 24, 1973
- Time
- 21:30:09 UTC
- Place
- Colombia, San Cristobal, Venezuela
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 50 km (31 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 4.956° N, 78.144° W
- Country
- Colombia
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
One killed and moderate damage in central Colombia. felt at Maracibo and San Cristobal, Venezuela. (reference #1053)
April 24, 1973, 21:30:06.2 UTC, 4.964 N, 78.124 W, depth 20 km, 6.4 mb, 6.5 MS, intensity VII. (reference #1205)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- July 30, 1962, Mistrato, Manizales, Colombia
- February 8, 1995, Cali, Pereira, Armenia, Calarca, Colombia
- November 19, 1991, Chaco, Buenaventura, Cali, Colombia
- November 15, 2004, Bajo Baudo, Buenaventura, Cerrito, Colombia
- September 26, 1970, Bahia Solano, Colombia
- October 11, 1877, Buenaventura, Colombia
- February 21, 1906, Buenaventura, Colombia
- January 5, 2014, Sipi, Colombia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1973The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1973Recent 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 4636.