M7.7 earthquake near Tumaco, Nariño

What happened

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 56 km NW of Valdez, Ecuador on 12 Dec 1979, 07:59 UTC at a depth of 24 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Major. Can cause serious damage over large areas. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Tumaco, about 66 km away in Nariño, Colombia.