World Map › Major Earthquakes Since 1900 › 1976
Historic Earthquake
1976 Guatemala Earthquake
4 February 1976 · Chimaltenango, Guatemala City · Guatemala
On 4 February 1976 at 09:01 UTC, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Guatemala (Chimaltenango, Guatemala City), at a depth of 5 km. It occurred on the Caribbean Plate, 31 km from its boundary with the North American Plate (continental rift). It killed at least 23,000 people and injured 76,000. 255,000 homes were destroyed. It is the 20th deadliest of the earthquakes recorded since 1900.
- Date
- 4 February 1976
- Time
- 09:01 UTC
- Magnitude
- 7.5
- Depth
- 5 km
- Maximum Intensity
- IX (Mercalli)
- Deaths
- 23,000
- Injuries
- 76,000
- Homes Destroyed
- 255,000
- Estimated Damage
- 2.1 billion US dollars
- Tsunami
- See the tsunami (0.1 m wave)
- Plate
- Caribbean Plate
- Country
- Guatemala
- Nearest Volcano
- Ixtepeque (118 km)
Nearby Major Earthquakes
Other major earthquakes recorded within 300 km.
- 2001January 2001 El Salvador Earthquake · M 7.7844 deaths
- 19821982 El Salvador Earthquake · M 7.343 deaths
- 1942Near S Coast · M 7.7
- 1932El Salvador · M 7.15 deaths
- 1921Guatemala · M 7.1
- 1915El Salvador · M 7.77 deaths
- 1902Quezaltenango, San Marcos · M 7.52,000 deaths
- 1902El Salvador · M 7.0185 deaths
Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Significant Earthquake Database (doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K) · Wikidata · Bird (2003), PB2002 · Natural Earth