Significant Earthquake

Date Earthquake Location Earthquake Parameters
Focal
Depth
Magnitude MMI Int
Year Mo Dy Hr Mn Sec Name Latitude Longitude Mw Ms Mb Ml Mfa Unk
1999 1 25 18 19 16.8 COLOMBIA: ARMENIA, CALARCA, PEREIRA, CALDAS, HUILA 4.461 -75.724 17 6.2 5.7 5.9
Significant Earthquake
Earthquake Effects Total Effects (Earthquake and Tsunami, Volcano, etc.)
Deaths Missing Injuries Damage Houses
Destroyed
Houses
Damaged
Deaths Missing Injuries Damage Houses
Destroyed
Houses
Damaged
Num De Num De Num De $Mill De Num De Num De Num De Num De Num De $Mill De Num De Num De
1185 4 700 3 4750 4 1857.366 4 4 1185 4 700 3 4750 4 1857.366 4 4


Comments for the Significant Earthquake

Comments for the Significant Earthquake

Display listing of nearby significant earthquakes

At least 1,185 people killed, over 700 missing and presumed killed, over 4,750 injured and about 250,000 homeless. The most affected city was Armenia where 907 people were killed and about 60 percent of the buildings were destroyed, including the police and fire stations. About 60 percent of the buildings were destroyed at Calarca and about 50 percent of the houses were destroyed at Pereira. Landslides blocked several roads including the Manizales-Bogota road. Damage occurred in Caldas, Huila, Quindio, Risaralda, Tolima and Valle del Cauca Departments. (reference #1053)

1186 killed, $1857.366 million damage. (reference #1250)

$1800 million damage. While Armenia was a less populated city (290,000 inhabitants as opposed to Pereira’s 380,000 inhabitants), the city had clearly been much more affected by the earthquake than Pereira had. Devastation to over 60% of Armenia was evident, with some Sectors of the city, such as the central district, over 90% destroyed. Thousands of people lined the streets in makeshift tents, either having either lost their homes or waiting for their homes to be structurally evaluated. Over 900 people died in the earthquake in the city of Armenia alone. In Pereira, damages were less severe, but upon speaking to city officials and others, we found these individuals felt they had not been "spared" by the effects of the earthquake. In fact, with 45 deaths and approximately 40% of the city's structures affected, Pereira is now facing the after effects of a more devastating event than the 1995 Calima-Darien earthquake, which caused the city over US $50 million in damages. (reference #1279)


References for the Significant Earthquake

References for the Significant Earthquake

ID Author Year Citation
1053 National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) 1971 to present Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), a weekly and monthly publication, National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado, 1971 to present.
1250 Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) and the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) 2001 EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database, Universite Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium, link
1279 GeoHazards International 1999-2002 Effects of the January 25, 1999 Colombian Earthquake As Viewed by Authorities in Pereira, Colombia, Special Report, Palo Alto, CA. Retrieved February 20, 2002 from link