1942 Guatemala earthquake

The shock occurred at 17:37 local time on 6 August, with the epicentre along Guatemala's southern coast near La Gomera in Escuintla. It caused extensive damage across the central and western highlands, and more than 60 percent of the houses in Tecpán Guatemala were destroyed. Spanish-language accounts record it as one of the strongest earthquakes registered in that region.

Origin time (UTC)

1942-08-06T23:37

Magnitude

7.7

Magnitude type

mw

Depth (km)

35

USGS event page

earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/iscgem900408

Category: Disasters & Incidents

Tags: guatemala, escuintla, tecpan, 1942

Coordinates: 13.863, -91.162

Part of Earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 and above in Mexico and Central America from 1900 to 1969

Related collections

• Mass shootings in the United States that killed 13 or more people since 1949 — United States · 18 locations
• Industrial and accidental explosions that killed 200 or more people since 1900 — Worldwide · 13 locations
• Peacetime shipwrecks that killed 500 or more people since 1900 — Worldwide · 10 locations
• Tsunamis with waves of 15 metres or more from 1800 to 1899 — Worldwide · 12 locations
• Western Pacific typhoons of category 4 and above in the 2010 to 2013 seasons — Western North Pacific · 18 locations
• Western Pacific typhoons of category 4 and above in the 2016 season — Western North Pacific · 8 locations