June 12, 1974 Earthquake: Venezuela
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Venezuela on June 12, 1974 at 16:25:47 UTC, 34 km below the surface. It killed 5 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
- June 12, 1974
- Time
- 16:25:47 UTC
- Place
- Venezuela
- Magnitude
- 6.1 (Ms)
- Magnitude scales
- Ms 6.1 · mb 5.7 · Unspecified 6.1
- Focal depth
- 34 km (21 mi)
- Intensity
- VII, very strong shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 10.560° N, 63.380° W
- Country
- Venezuela
- Region
- South America
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
Ms: surface-wave magnitude. mb: body-wave (P-wave) magnitude. Unspecified: the method was not stated in the published sources. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.
The toll
- Deaths
- 5
- Injuries
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- Damage
- $2.5 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.
Magnitude estimates
The magnitudes the USGS catalog lists for this earthquake, by scale and by who computed them. NCEI’s own scales are in the table above.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | Ms, surface-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 6.1 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.27 |
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1064 Funvisis. El Riesgo Sismico En Venezuela, Fundacion Venezolana de Investigaciones Sismologicas (a brochure).
- #1053 National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) (1971 to 2013). Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), a weekly and monthly publication, National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado, 1971 to 2013.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 14, 1797, Cumana, Cariaco, Venezuela
- July 15, 1853, Cumana, Venezuela
- July 9, 1997, Cariaco-Cumana, Venezuela
- January 17, 1929, Cumana, Venezuela
- August 21, 2018, Sucre, Trinidad, Venezuela
- September 1, 1530, Cumana, Venezuela
- September 20, 1968, Carupano, Venezuela
- June 11, 1986, Venezuela
- September 29, 2006, Gasparillo, Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago
- June 7, 1900, Casanay (Casanai),cariaco, Venezuela
- January 15, 2010, Cariaco, Venezuela
- August 18, 1874, Pilar, Venezuela
- August 13, 1868, Rio Caribe, Venezuela
- August 1823, Cariaco, Margarita Island, Venezuela
- August 11, 2008, Cariaco-Cumana, Venezuela
More
Significant earthquakes of 1974The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1974Recent 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 4659. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event usp00006qz, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.