Earthquakes near Arequipa through history

The deadliest was not the strongest: an estimated magnitude 7.9 on February 19, 1600 (Volcan Huaynaputina), for which NOAA records 1,500 deaths. NOAA’s list of significant earthquakes has 28 here, back to 1471. NOAA records deaths in 12 of the events here, 2,787 in all. The latest on NOAA’s list is a magnitude 5.5 on July 12, 2022 (3 km SW of La Capilla, Peru). NOAA’s record here begins in 1471 with an earthquake. 17 of the 28 significant earthquakes NOAA lists here came before 1927. NOAA lists one tsunami that began within 100 km of Arequipa, and 2 from elsewhere that reached it with deaths or a metre of water or more. The highest water NOAA records here was 12 m, on August 13, 1868. The deadliest here came on August 13, 1868 from a magnitude 8.5 earthquake (Northern Chile): NOAA’s runup records count 500 deaths within 100 km of Arequipa. NOAA lists 2 significant eruptions of 2 volcanoes within 100 km of Arequipa. The largest was Huaynaputina on February 19, 1600, at 6 on the volcanic explosivity index. It killed 1,500 people by NOAA’s count.

• July 12, 2022Earthquake · M 5.53 km SW of La Capilla, PeruUSGS · NOAA NCEI
• August 13, 1868Tsunami · 12 m hereNorthern Chile · 500 deaths here (NOAA)NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
• February 6, 1716Earthquake · M 8.8 (est.)Pueblo De Torata In TacnaNOAA NCEI
• February 19, 1600Earthquake · M 7.9 (est.)Volcan Huaynaputina · 1,500 deaths (NOAA)NOAA NCEI
• February 19, 1600Eruption · VEI 6Huaynaputina · 1,500 deaths (NOAA)NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
• 1513Earthquake · M 8.7 (est.)NOAA NCEI
• 1471Earthquake · M 8.0 (est.)NOAA NCEI

• An event counts for Arequipa when it began within 100 km of its centre, or 200 km for an earthquake of magnitude 7 or more. Damage can reach further.
• USGS counts here start at magnitude 6: the catalogue’s smaller quakes thin out going back, where few instruments listened.
• NOAA lists significant events only: earthquakes that killed, did about $1 million of damage, reached magnitude 7.5 or intensity X, or raised a tsunami, and eruptions and tsunamis by like measures. Magnitudes before 1900 are its estimates from written accounts.
• Deaths are NOAA’s total for each event, wherever people died, its tsunami and fires included. A tsunami counts the dead its runup records give for this place: NOAA’s total for a tsunami includes its source quake’s.
• A tsunami from elsewhere counts where one of its runups killed or rose a metre or more.
• Counted to October 19, 2026, as is the map. The last 30 days ask USGS again.

How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Earthquakes, live, The world through history