November 20, 1980 Earthquake: Pacajus, Brazil
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck Pacajus, Brazil on November 20, 1980 at 03:29 UTC.
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
- November 20, 1980
- Time
- 03:29 UTC
- Place
- Pacajus, Brazil
- Magnitude
- 5.2 (mb)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 4.300° S, 38.400° W
- Country
- Brazil
The toll
- Injuries
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- Houses damaged
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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.
Reference #14099:
Brito - several houses destroyed (plaster collapsed and cracked);
Cascavel - many felt it and took to the streets; some houses showed small cracks; no serious damage.
Catu - people were left homeless.
Chorozinho - most of the buildings had cracks in the walls and falling plaster; the roof of the church began to collapse, a few cracks; several earth houses collapsed.
Feijão - houses collapsed; people injured or one dead (?).
Fortaleza - dozens of houses and buildings with cracks in the walls (? )
Lagoa de Cedro - several houses collapsed; entire brick walls collapsed;
Lagoa do Martins - house collapsed almost completely
Pacajus - dozens of houses in the municipality were hit; two factories with huge cracks in their walls; several (?) houses with cracked walls.
Timbauba - collapsed roofs and cracks in the walls of most houses; two people injured; new house cracked; church walls cracked; school roof partially collapsed.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1980The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1980Recent 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 10918.