March 27, 2022 Earthquake: Esmeraldas, Ecuador
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck Esmeraldas, Ecuador on March 27, 2022 at 04:28:12 UTC, 19 km below the surface. It killed 1 person.
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
- March 27, 2022
- Time
- 04:28:12 UTC
- Place
- Esmeraldas, Ecuador
- Magnitude
- 5.8 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 19 km (12 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 0.904° N, 79.611° W
- Country
- Ecuador
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 2
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 779
- Houses damaged
- 3,825
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.
One person died from a heart attack and one injured, 42 homes destroyed and 214 damaged, 12 public buildings and a bridge damaged and power outages occurred in the Esmeraldas area. Esmeraldas, Esmeraldas, Ecuador - CDI: 7; Barbacoas, Nariño, Colombia - CDI: 6; Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador - CDI: 5; Riobamba, Chimborazo, Ecuador - CDI: 4; Muisne, Esmeraldas, Ecuador - CDI: 4; Ibarra, Imbabura, Ecuador - CDI: 4 (reference #13456)
779 houses severe damages, 2428 houses partially impacted, 1397 houses light damage. 15 health center impacted, 16 educational centers impacted, 12 public infrastructure impacted, 1 bridge impacted (reference #13461)
1 death, 2 injured (reference #1250)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- August 16, 1868, San Pablo, Guayaquil,ibarra, Colombia, Ecuador
- January 31, 1906, Off Coast, Ecuador
- April 16, 2016, Manabi, Esmeraldas, Near West Coast, Ecuador
- December 12, 1979, Off Shore, Pacific Ocean, Colombia
- January 19, 1958, Colombia-Ecuador
- April 9, 1976, Esmeraldos, Ecuador
- August 11, 1990, Pamasqui, Quito, Ecuador
- December 19, 2016, Esmeraldas, Ecuador
- August 12, 2014, Quito, Ecuador
- August 4, 1998, Bahia DE Caraquez, Canoa, Ecuador
- May 18, 2016, Manabi Province, Ecuador
- April 25, 2025, Esmeraldas, Ecuador
- June 25, 1989, Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, Ecuador
- February 1, 1958, Colombia-Ecuador
- February 7, 1906, Colombia-Ecuador
More
Significant earthquakes of 2022The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2022Recent 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 10609.