March 19, 1978 Earthquake: Acapulco, Mexico
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Acapulco, Mexico on March 19, 1978 at 01:39:14 UTC, 36 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
- March 19, 1978
- Time
- 01:39:14 UTC
- Place
- Acapulco, Mexico
- Magnitude
- 6.6 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 36 km (22 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 17.030° N, 99.740° W
- Country
- Mexico
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 25
- 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.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- July 6, 1964, Guerrero, Mexico
- July 28, 1957, Acapulco,mexico City
- October 3, 1864, Puebla,veracruz,acultzingo,acatzingo, Mexico
- March 28, 1787, San Marcos, Oaxaca, Mexico
- June 7, 1982, Guererro, Orziba, Oaxaca, Guadalupe, Mexico
- April 15, 1907, Guerrero, Mexico
- July 19, 1882, Puebla,huahuapan,huamuxtitlan,xalpatlahuac, Mexico
- February 22, 1943, Paricutin Volcano Forms, Guerrero, Mexico
- March 14, 1979, Guerrero, Mexico
- May 11, 1962, Southern Mexico
- December 23, 1937, Ometepec, Guerrero, Mexico
- September 8, 2021, Guerrero, Mexico
- May 19, 1962, Southern Mexico
- April 25, 1989, Mexico City, Acapulco
- September 14, 1995, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Puebla, Mexico City
More
Significant earthquakes of 1978The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1978Recent 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 4795.