August 17, 2023 Earthquake: Bogota, Boyaca, Cundinamarca, Meta,, Colombia
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Bogota, Boyaca, Cundinamarca, Meta,, Colombia on August 17, 2023 at 17:04:49 UTC, 10 km below the surface. It killed 2 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
- August 17, 2023
- Time
- 17:04:49 UTC
- Place
- Bogota, Boyaca, Cundinamarca, Meta,, Colombia
- Magnitude
- 6.3 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 10 km (6 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 4.418° N, 73.511° W
- Country
- Colombia
The toll
- Deaths
- 2
- Damage
- $30 million
- Houses destroyed
- 20
- Houses damaged
- 252
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.
Note: magnitude 5.7 Mw occurred on 2023-08-17 17:17:18 (UTC) with epicenter of 4.214°N 73.607°W. Impacts combined with this event.
20 homes destroyed: 6 in El Calvario, Meta; 1 in Ubala, 12 in Gachala, 1 in Guayabetal, Cundinamarca. 252 homes damages. 9 educational institutions impacted.(reference #13572)
Reference #13573 reports 2 deaths; 1 from a mine in Sativanorte (Boyaca); 1 from jumping from a building in panic in Madelena, south of Bogota.
USD 30 million in economic loss (reference #13727)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- June 16, 1805, Honda,mariquita, Colombia
- July 12, 1785, Bogota,engativa,caxica,soacha, Colombia
- December 22, 1923, Gachala,gacheta,ubala,medina, Colombia
- January 19, 1995, Bogota, Manizales, Miraflores, Colombia
- May 24, 2008, Meta, Quetame, Colombia
- September 4, 1966, Colombia
- August 31, 1917, Bogota, Ubaque, Soacha, Caqueza, Colombia
- October 18, 1743, Bogota, Colombia
- June 8, 2025, Cundinamarca, 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
- May 22, 1942, Colombia
More
Significant earthquakes of 2023The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2023Recent 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 10704.