January 30, 1973 Earthquake: S, Farias, Tecoman, Mexico
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck S, Farias, Tecoman, Mexico on January 30, 1973 at 21:01:12 UTC, 43 km below the surface. It killed 56 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
- January 30, 1973
- Time
- 21:01:12 UTC
- Place
- S, Farias, Tecoman, Mexico
- Magnitude
- 7.5 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 43 km (27 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 18.480° N, 103.000° W
- Country
- Mexico
The toll
- Deaths
- 56
- Injuries
- 390
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 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.
On January 30, 1973 at 15:01 [local time] a strong earthquake occurred in Michoacan, a state of west/central Mexico, causing destruction in the valleys of Michoacan, Colima, and western JaLisco. The source region of the earthquake was not densely populated. Due to the inaccessibility of the location, little information was received from the area. In all, 56 people died and a few
hundred were injured. The cities of Tecoman and Coahuayana sustained the most severe damage. In Manzanillo, the earthquake injured livestock and damaged roads. Several houses collapsed in the cities of Colima and Ciudad Guzman. In other cities, damage was limited to cracks and falling plaster in houses. Many landslides and ground cracks were discovered over a large but sparsely populated area on the coast of Michoacan. In Mexico City, strong ground tremors continued for about 40 seconds. Motor vehicle traffic was
disrupted on major roads. Damage to windows and decorations on building fronts could be seen, mainly in high-rise buildings located in the commercial area of Mexico City. Strong ground tremors occurred, most of which lasted for
periods of 2 seconds. A weak tsunami with a maximum height of 1 m was observed. (Ref #417)
17 killed, 390 reported injured. (Ref #1053)
30 casualties. (Ref #369)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- September 19, 1985, Mexico City, Michoacan
- March 25, 1806, Jalisco,oaxaca,michoacan, Mexico
- May 31, 1818, Morelos-Guerrero,mexico City,guadalajara
- June 3, 1932, Near Coast of Jalisco, Mexico
- April 15, 1941, Michoacan, Colima, Jalisco, Mexico
- June 22, 1932, Central, Mexico
- October 9, 1995, Jalisco, Manzanillo, San Patricio Melaque, Mexico
- January 22, 2003, Villa DE Alvarez, Colima, Tecoman, Jalisco, Mexico
- March 14, 1979, Guerrero, Mexico
- September 22, 2022, Mexico City, Michoacan
- October 25, 1981, Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan, Mexico
- September 19, 2022, Michoacan, Colima, Jalisco, Mexico
- January 11, 1997, Michoacan, Arteaga, Mexico
- June 7, 1911, Colima, Jalisco, Mexico City
- March 31, 1818, Mexico
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 4622.