August 18, 1974 Earthquake: La Union, Valdivia, Chile

Date

August 18, 1974

Time

10:44:12 UTC

Place

La Union, Valdivia, Chile

Magnitude

7.1 (Ms)

Focal depth

36 km (22 mi)

Intensity

6 on the Modified Mercalli scale

Tsunami

Yes: the tsunami it caused

Epicenter

38.500° S, 73.400° W

Country

Chile

Damage

Limited (under about $1 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.

• May 22, 1960, Puerto Montt, Valdivia, ChileM9.5 · 2,226 deaths · $1 billion · 58,622 houses destroyed · 40 km
• February 8, 1570, Old Concepcion, ChileM8.3 · 2,000 deaths · 198 km
• December 16, 1575, Valdivia, ChileM8.5 · 1,321 deaths · 146 km
• April 20, 1949, Angol, Traiguen, ChileM7.3 · 57 deaths · 56 km
• February 20, 1835, Concepcion, ChileM8.2 · 53 deaths · 189 km
• March 15, 1657, Concepcion, Chillan, ChileM8 · 40 deaths · 189 km
• July 23, 1898, Concepcion, ChileM6.5 · 6 deaths · 189 km
• October 28, 1562, ChileM8 · Deaths: many · 24 km
• May 10, 1975, Central, ChileM7.7 · 39 km
• June 15, 2004, Carahue, Imperial, Temuco, ChileM5.9 · 45 km
• August 20, 1920, Off Coast Central, ChileM7 · 56 km
• May 21, 1960, Central, ChileM8.2 · Deaths: few · 71 km
• May 3, 2004, Canete, ChileM6.6 · 90 km
• February 14, 1962, Central, ChileM7.3 · 111 km
• November 1, 1960, Concepcion, ChileM7.4 · Deaths: few · 148 km

Significant earthquakes of 1974The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1974Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

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 6444.