July 29, 2015 Earthquake: Unguia, Colombia, Colombia-Panama
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Unguia, Colombia, Colombia-Panama on July 29, 2015 at 00:10:24 UTC, 12 km below the surface.
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
- July 29, 2015
- Time
- 00:10:24 UTC
- Place
- Unguia, Colombia, Colombia-Panama
- Magnitude
- 5.9 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 12 km (7 mi)
- Intensity
- 5 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 8.231° N, 77.315° W
- Country
- Panama
The toll
- Injuries
- 6
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses damaged
- 45
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 6 people injured, 45 buildings damaged and electricity disrupted at Unguia, Colombia. Felt (II) at Medellin. Also felt at Bogota, Envigado, Municipo de Bello and Sabaneta. At least 5 schools damaged in Darien, Panama. Felt (III) at San Miguelito and (II) at Panama City. Also felt at San Carlos and Tocumen. Bello, Antioquia, Colombia - CDI: 5; Sabaneta, Antioquia, Colombia - CDI: 4; Envigado, Antioquia, Colombia - CDI: 3; San Miguelito, Panamá, Panama - CDI: 3; Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia - CDI: 3(reference #13456)
At least thirty homes and a power supply line were damaged in the northwest of Colombia when a magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit the Colombia-Panama border on Tuesday evening. According to Colombia's disaster agency UNGRD, parts of the jungle region of the Choco province are without electricity while repairmen fix the broken electricity cable. The mayor of Unguia, the town closest to the earthquake's epicenter, told local media that 30 homes had been damaged but that there had been no information on possible injuries or deaths in the remote jungle area. According to Blu Radio, this number was later corrected to 41. Some homes "are at the point of collapsing. The people are practically in the street at the moment, because they fear the situation can repeat itself," Mayor Victor Gomez told the radio station. The quake was felt throughout the northwest of Colombia, including cities like Medellin, Pereira and Monteria. According to the director of Panama's National System for Civil Protection, the earthquake happened at only 10 kilometers below the surface and that "there is no risk of a tsunami." The quake left no reported damages in the neighboring country. (reference #11238)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- July 13, 1974, Bogota, Cali, Pereira, Colombia
- October 18, 1992, Murindo, Apartado, Medellin, Colombia
- July 11, 1976, Darien, Panama
- August 31, 1977, Apartado, Medellin, Colombia
- March 9, 1883, Antioquia, Yarumal, Colombia
- November 8, 2000, Jurado, Panama-Colombia
- October 17, 1992, Murindo, Cali, Colombia
More
Significant earthquakes of 2015The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2015Recent 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 10150.