1906 Ecuador-Colombia earthquake

The shock struck at 10:36:10 local time on Wednesday, 31 January 1906, off the coast of Ecuador near Esmeraldas, and triggered a tsunami that reached heights of about 5 metres. The most severe tsunami damage ran along the coast between Rio Verde in Ecuador and Micay in Colombia, where 49 houses were destroyed at Tumaco; waves were also recorded in Hawaii, Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, California and Japan. The rupture zone extended roughly 500 to 600 kilometres and encompassed the areas later broken by the 1942, 1958 and 1979 earthquakes.

Origin time (UTC)

1906-01-31T15:36

Magnitude

8.8

Magnitude type

mw

Depth (km)

20

Deaths, as sources state them

at least 500 on the coast of Colombia

USGS event page

earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/official19060131153610_30

Category: Disasters & Incidents

Tags: megathrust, tsunami, ecuador, colombia, subduction

Coordinates: 0.955, -79.369

Part of Earthquakes of magnitude 8.5 and above since 1900

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