- Type:
- Earthquake
- Date:
- December 12, 1979 CE
- Location:
- Colombia, Off Shore, Pacific Ocean
- Magnitude:
- 8.1 Mw
- Depth:
- 23 km
- Deaths:
- 600
- Injuries:
- 20,000
- Intensity (MMI):
- 9
- Damage:
- ~$8M (value at the time)
Cross-catalog records
This event is recorded in 6 separate scientific catalogs, each of which may give a different magnitude (the disagreement between catalogs is itself valuable for research):
- NOAA_SIGEQ: Mw 8.1
- USGS_COMCAT: mb 5.6
- USGS_COMCAT: Ms 7.7
- USGS_COMCAT: mb 5.5
- USGS_COMCAT: mb 5.3
- USGS_COMCAT: mb 5.1
Other earthquake records of 1979 CE
- Iran, Khorasan · Mw 6.6 · 171 deaths
- Balkans Nw, Montenegro · Ms 6.9 · 131 deaths
- Iran, Bonzanabad · Mw 6.5 · 129 deaths
- Indonesia, New Guinea: Irian Jaya · Ms 7.9 · 115 deaths
- Colombia, Manizales-Armenia · Mb 6.4 · 72 deaths
- China, Jiangsu Province: Liyang · Ms 5.4 · 41 deaths
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database, doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K · License: U.S. Government Work · institutional record ↗
Frequently asked questions
- When did 1979 CE Earthquake — Colombia, Off Shore, Pacific Ocean happen?
- December 12, 1979 CE.
- Where does this information come from?
- This record comes from NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database, doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K; it was not hand-authored and is stored together with its source.
- How many people died?
- Recorded estimate: 600. Historical death tolls vary by source.