May 24, 2008 Earthquake: Meta, Quetame, Colombia
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Meta, Quetame, Colombia on May 24, 2008 at 19:20:42 UTC, 9 km below the surface. It killed 6 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
- May 24, 2008
- Time
- 19:20:42 UTC
- Place
- Meta, Quetame, Colombia
- Magnitude
- 5.6 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 9 km (6 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 4.330° N, 73.764° W
- Country
- Colombia
The toll
- Deaths
- 6
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses damaged
- Some (about 51 to 100)
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.
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake occurred on May 24, 1008, 50 km ESE of Bogota, Colombia, At least 6 people were killed by a landslide in the Meta province. Several buildings damaged at Quetame. Felt (V) at Bogota. Felt widely throughout Colombia. (reference #1053)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- February 19, 1845, Magdalena River, Colombia
- June 16, 1805, Honda,mariquita, Colombia
- December 20, 1961, Eje Cafetero, Colombia
- July 12, 1785, Bogota,engativa,caxica,soacha, Colombia
- December 22, 1923, Gachala,gacheta,ubala,medina, Colombia
- January 19, 1995, Bogota, Manizales, Miraflores, Colombia
- September 4, 1966, Colombia
- August 31, 1917, Bogota, Ubaque, Soacha, Caqueza, Colombia
- August 17, 2023, Bogota, Boyaca, Cundinamarca, Meta,, Colombia
- October 18, 1743, Bogota, Colombia
- June 18, 1826, Engativa,bogota,ramiriqui,umbita,tunja, Colombia
- September 18, 1900, Colombia
- August 8, 1903, Colombia
- July 11, 1906, Colombia
- July 14, 1906, Colombia
More
Significant earthquakes of 2008The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2008Recent 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 7879.