September 22, 1987 Earthquake: Ambato, Latacunga, Riobamba, Ecuador

Date

September 22, 1987

Time

13:43:37 UTC

Place

Ambato, Latacunga, Riobamba, Ecuador

Magnitude

6.2 (Ms)

Focal depth

10 km (6 mi)

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

0.978° S, 78.050° W

Country

Ecuador

Deaths

2

Injuries

12

Damage

Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)

Houses destroyed

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.

• August 16, 1868, San Pablo, Guayaquil,ibarra, Colombia, EcuadorM7.7 · 70,000 deaths · 144 km
• February 4, 1797, Riobamba, Quito, Cuzco, Peru, Colombia, EcuadorM8.3 · 40,000 deaths · 101 km
• June 20, 1698, Tungurahua,cotopaxi,chimborazo, EcuadorM7.7 · 6,500 deaths · 76 km
• August 5, 1949, Tungurahua, EcuadorM6.5 · 6,000 deaths · $7.5 million · 40 km
• February 1640, Ecuador5,000 deaths · 101 km
• March 6, 1987, Napo Province, Quito, Tulcan, EcuadorM7.2 · 5,000 deaths · $1.5 billion · 122 km
• February 22, 1757, Cotopaxi,tungurahua, Latacunga, EcuadorM7 · 1,000 deaths · 62 km
• March 3, 1924, EcuadorM6.9 · 40 deaths · 92 km
• March 28, 1996, Cotopaxi, Pastaza, Tungurahua, Ambato, EcuadorM5.9 · 27 deaths · $7 million · 77 km
• July 30, 1960, Ecuador11 deaths · 121 km
• August 11, 1990, Pamasqui, Quito, EcuadorM4.4 · 4 deaths · 111 km
• August 12, 2014, Quito, EcuadorM5.1 · 3 deaths · 111 km
• October 3, 1995, Quito, EcuadorM7 · 2 deaths · 83 houses destroyed · 198 km
• January 31, 2018, Pastaza, EcuadorM5.2 · 1 death · 95 km
• February 22, 2019, Azuay, Manabi, Morona Sant., Peru, EcuadorM7.5 · 1 death · 5 houses destroyed · 174 km

Significant earthquakes of 1987The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1987Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

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 5142.