Significant earthquakes of 1985

September 19, 1985 Earthquake: Mexico City, Michoacan

September 19, 1985 · M8.1 · 9,500 deaths · $4 billion

A magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck Mexico City, Michoacan on September 19, 1985 at 13:17:47 UTC, 28 km below the surface. It killed 9,500 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
September 19, 1985
Time
13:17:47 UTC
Place
Mexico City, Michoacan
Magnitude
8.1 (Ms)
Focal depth
28 km (17 mi)
Intensity
9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Epicenter
18.190° N, 102.533° W
Country
Mexico

The toll

Deaths
9,500
Injuries
30,000
Damage
$4 billion
Houses destroyed
Very many (over 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.

At least 9,500 people were killed, about 30,000 were injured, more than 100,000 people were left homeless, and severe damage was caused in parts of Mexico City and in several states of central Mexico. It is estimated that the quake seriously affected an area of approximately 825,000 square km and was felt by almost 20 million people. 412 buildings collapsed and another 3,124 were seriously damaged in Mexico City. About 60% of the buildings were destroyed at Ciudad Guzman, Jalisco. Damage also occurred in the states of Colima, Guerrero, Mexico, Michoacan, Morelos, parts of Veracruz and in other areas of Jalisco.

Reference #1053 (USGS PDE) lists $3 to $4 billion damage; Reference #1250 (EM-DAT) lists $4 billion damage; Reference #369 lists $5 bilion damage; Reference #1249 (Annual Review: 2000, Munich Re) lists $9.5 billion damage; Reference #14172 lists $3-4 billion in damages.

Photos

From the NCEI/WDS Natural Hazards Image Database (doi:10.7289/V5154F01). Only photos by the USGS and NOAA, which are public domain, are shown.

Buckled Box Column, Mexico City
Buckled Box Column, Mexico City Buckled box column on the south side of center 23-story tower, one of five towers at the Pino Suarez Complex damaged in the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. The columns were hollow box sections made of four plates with exterior welds along the edges. Internal stiffener plates were spaced at regular intervals and welded to three sides along the interior length… Photo: E.V. Leyendecker, U.S. Geological Survey.
Failed First-Story Column, Mexico City
Failed First-Story Column, Mexico City Failed first-story column in an eleven-story apartment building after the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. This column failure was induced by a variation in stiffness between the first and other floors of the building, concentrating the load in the first story columns. Note that column ties appear to be undamaged. Photo: E.V. Leyendecker, U.S. Geological Survey.
Total Collapse of Juarez Hospital
Total Collapse of Juarez Hospital Total collapse at Juarez Hospital. Four hundred medical personnel and patients were trapped in the maternity wing of the Juarez Hospital. Localized failures at the beam-to-beam joints of each floor caused the collapse of this reinforced concrete frame structure. Survivors were retrieved from the structure as late as ten days after the earthquake by… Photo: E.V. Leyendecker, U.S. Geological Survey.
Totally Collapsed 21-Story Steel Frame Office Building
Totally Collapsed 21-Story Steel Frame Office Building Total collapse of 21-story steel frame office building. Note building standing in background. Many tall concrete structures whose designs met the requirements of the building code performed well. When the magnitude and duration of the quake are considered, the performance as a whole of the one million structures in the city was very good. Photo: E.V. Leyendecker, U.S. Geological Survey.
Failed Column Joint at Juarez Hospital
Failed Column Joint at Juarez Hospital Close-up joint details of the Juarez Hospital that collapsed during the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. The failure indicates lack of sufficient confining reinforcement in the vicinity of the joint. This nine-story reinforced concrete-frame structure collapsed towards the east exhibiting localized failures at the beam-to-column joints of each floor. This is… Photo: E.V. Leyendecker, U.S. Geological Survey.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1985The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1985Recent 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 5076.