The 1863 Manila earthquake struck the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

on June 3, 1863.

Overview

The Manila earthquake on June 3, 1863, destroyed

Manila Cathedral The Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, commonly known as the Manila Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic basilica and cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Manila. It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary of ...

, the ''

Ayuntamiento ''Ayuntamiento'' ()In other languages of Spain: * (). * (). * (). is the general term for the town council, or ''cabildo'', of a municipality or, sometimes, as is often the case in Spain and Latin America, for the municipality itself. is mai ...

'' (city hall), the Governor's Palace (all three located at the time on Plaza Mayor, now

Plaza de Roma Plaza de Roma, also known as Plaza Roma, is one of three major public squares in Intramuros, Manila. It is bounded by Andres Soriano Avenue (formerly Calle Aduana) to the north, Cabildo Street to the east, Santo Tomas Street to the south, and Ge ...

) and much of the city. The residence of the governor-general was moved to

Malacañang Palace Malacañang Palace (, ), officially known as Malacañán Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila district of San Miguel, Manila, San Miguel, along Jose Laurel S ...

located about 3 km (1.9 miles) up the

Pasig River The Pasig River (; ) is a water body in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for , it bisects the Philippine capital of Manila and Metro Manila, its surrounding urban area into northern and southern halves. Its m ...

, while the other two buildings were rebuilt in place. The fatality count reached 1,000.

Epicenter and effects

The earthquake was described as disastrous, comparable with that of in 1645. Laid in ruins the cathedral and nearly all the other churches, except San Agustin, the palace of the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

, the Audiencia, the barracks, warehouses, etc.; all in all, 46 public buildings in ruins and 25 others badly damaged. Of private houses 570 were destroyed, 531 were left tottering. Total, 1,172 buildings were in ruins or badly damaged. The number of victims was appalling, estimated that in Manila and the surrounding towns alone the number of killed reached 400 and the number of injured reached 2,000. The catastrophe likewise involved many towns in the District of Morong and the provinces of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, Laguna, and

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...

, where it destroyed churches and a great number of houses.

References

{{Earthquakes in the Philippines 1863 earthquakes June 1863 Earthquakes in the Philippines 1863 in the Philippines 1860s disasters in Asia 19th-century disasters in the Philippines

Overview

Epicenter and effects

See also

References