The 1986 João Câmara earthquake was one of Brazil's most damaging seismic events, displacing thousands and generating over 1,000 recorded aftershocks through 1990.
Key Facts
- Moment Magnitude
- 5.1
- Date and Time
- 30 November 1986, 02:19 Brasília Time
- Total Recorded Events
- More than 1,000 earthquakes
- Aftershock Duration
- Continued until 1990
- Foreshocks Began
- August 1986
- Displacement
- Thousands of people displaced
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Northeastern Brazil lies within a seismically active zone where the Brasiliano orogeny, occurring between 1 billion and 538.8 million years ago, produced a series of fault zones between the São Francisco and São Luís cratons. The João Câmara earthquake nucleated on one of these ancient fault structures.
On 30 November 1986, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck near João Câmara, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The mainshock was part of an extended seismic sequence that included foreshocks beginning in August 1986 and was felt across a large area of northeastern Brazil, including Natal and Mossoró.
Widespread building damage occurred in João Câmara, and thousands of residents were displaced. The seismic sequence persisted well beyond the mainshock, with aftershocks recorded through 1990, making it one of the most memorable and consequential earthquake sequences in Brazilian history.