February 16, 1979 Earthquake: Arequipa, Peru
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Arequipa, Peru on February 16, 1979 at 10:08:53 UTC, 53 km below the surface. It killed 18 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
- February 16, 1979
- Time
- 10:08:53 UTC
- Place
- Arequipa, Peru
- Magnitude
- 6.9 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 53 km (33 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 16.390° S, 72.658° W
- Country
- Peru
The toll
- Deaths
- 18
- Injuries
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- 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.
- February 19, 1600, Volcan Huaynaputina, Peru
- May 13, 1784, Arequipa,camana,moquegua,tambo, Peru
- July 10, 1821, Camana, Ocona, Caraveli, Peru
- June 23, 2001, Arequipa, Moquegua, Tacna, Ayacucho, Peru
- July 23, 1991, Maca, Chivay, Yanque, Peru
- January 13, 1960, Arequipa,chuquibamba,caraveli,cotahuasi, Peru
- January 22, 1582, Socabaya,arequipa, Peru
- December 2, 1914, Pararca,paysa,colta,oyala, Peru
- January 15, 1958, Arequipa, Peru
- August 15, 2016, Arequipa, Peru
- April 3, 1999, Camana, Arequipa, Peru
- August 11, 2017, Arequipa, Peru
- July 18, 2017, Arequipa, Peru
- July 8, 2008, Arequipa, Peru
- July 7, 2001, Arequipa, Arica, Peru
More
Significant earthquakes of 1979The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1979Recent 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 4827.