Brazil Earthquake Trends: Low Risk, Not Zero Risk

A researcher at monitoring screens in the University of Brasília Seismological Observatory
File photo: the University of Brasília’s Seismological Observatory, one of the centres that run the Brazilian Seismographic Network. Photo: Universidade de Brasília via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Low but realUpdated 20 October 2026

Trend summary

  • Brazil sits in the middle of the South American plate, so its earthquake risk is low. Most tremors are small and few are felt.
  • The country has recorded one earthquake death: a five-year-old girl in Caraíbas, Itacarambi (Minas Gerais), on 9 December 2007, when a magnitude 4.9 quake brought down her home’s walls.
  • Small swarms recur in places such as Montes Claros and Sete Lagoas (MG), Parauapebas (PA) and off the Rio de Janeiro coast. Very deep Andean quakes under Acre reach magnitude 6.6 but cause no damage.
  • The worst ground-movement disaster was man-made: salt mining under Maceió caused subsidence that forced about 60,000 people from their homes. A small tremor in March 2018 was one of the first warning signs.
1recorded earthquake death in Brazil (Caraíbas, 2007)
6.2largest recorded quake, Mato Grosso, 1955
4.5largest intraplate tremor of 2025 (Roraima)
60,000people evacuated in Maceió subsidence, 2018–2024

What the numbers show

Brazil’s earthquakes are mostly small. The largest on record was a magnitude 6.2 event on 27 January 1955 in the Serra do Tombador, Mato Grosso. It did little harm because few people lived nearby (Jornal da USP). The only recorded death came on 9 December 2007. A magnitude 4.9 (mb) quake struck the village of Caraíbas in Itacarambi, Minas Gerais. It killed a five-year-old girl, injured six people and damaged 76 buildings (Chimpliganond et al., Tectonophysics; Estado de Minas). Six houses were destroyed and about 380 people lost their homes (Vermelho, 10 Dec 2007).

In 2025 the five largest tremors inside the plate ranged from magnitude 4.0 to 4.5. The largest were in Rorainópolis (Roraima, 4.5) and Poconé (Mato Grosso, 4.4), and three were in Parauapebas, Pará. The Brazilian Seismographic Network (RSBR) tracked them with almost 100 stations (Diário do Pará, citing RSBR). Deep quakes under Acre are bigger: magnitude 6.6 in January 2024 at more than 600 km depth, with no damage (Ministry of Mines and Energy / SGB). The biggest human toll from ground movement was in Maceió. Salt mining there affected more than 14,000 properties, and about 60,000 people were evacuated (Senate News Agency).

What is driving it

Natural tremors in Brazil come from old faults inside the plate being squeezed. In Caraíbas, researchers found very shallow reverse faulting, 0.3 to 1.2 km deep. They linked it to old basement faults reactivated under east–west compression (UnB doctoral thesis, 2013). In the far west, the Nazca plate dives under South America. This produces deep quakes under Acre that people feel but that rarely do harm (Agência Brasil). Big Andean quakes can also sway tall buildings in São Paulo, because the city sits on a sedimentary basin that amplifies seismic waves (Revista Oeste, citing USP).

Some shaking is human-made. Researchers report four confirmed cases of reservoir-triggered seismicity at the edge of the Paraná Basin. A reservoir-induced magnitude 3.3 tremor at Miranda (MG) nearly brought down a house (Barros, UnB thesis, 2010). Quarry blasts are mixed into the Montes Claros records (USP/UnB report, 2013). In Maceió, the Geological Survey of Brazil (CPRM) linked ground subsidence to Braskem’s salt-rock mining in 2019. A magnitude 2.4 tremor on 3 March 2018 was among the early signs (TNH1; Chamber of Deputies).

Recent cases

  • 10 September 2026: USP seismologists said the year’s large quakes abroad were within the normal range. They added that Brazil, far from plate edges, can still have intraplate quakes (Jornal da USP).
  • 31 July 2026: A magnitude 5.6 quake 150 km under Pucallpa, Peru, was felt in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre. No injuries or damage were reported (Agência Brasil).
  • 6 July 2026: A magnitude 3.0 quake about 60 km off Maricá, Rio de Janeiro, was recorded on 4 July. Nine small quakes had been logged near Saquarema in late June (Agência Brasil).

Press releases and official reports, 2023–2026

Up to five key releases a year for the last four years, newest first. Most come from federal ministries and agencies such as the Ministry of Health, INPE, the Federal Highway Police, CENIPA and the Central Bank, from Agência Brasil, the public news agency, and from the Senate and Chamber news services and state governments; a few news reports are included where they are the clearest public record of an event. Headlines are our English translations of the Portuguese originals. Releases from 2007–2022 are in the expandable list after 2023.

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View 20 years of major Brazilian earthquake press releases (2007–2026)58 more from 2007–2022, up to five a year, newest first

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Many years list fewer than five items, and some have none yet. Older federal releases and the 2007–2013 Agência Brasil archive are hard to reach at their original addresses, and we only list items we could open and check. We are still adding to these lists. Where a page shows no date, the date comes from the release address or the publisher’s own index.

Photo list

Empty houses and protest graffiti in the Pinheiro district of Maceió after ground subsidence
Abandoned homes in the Pinheiro district of Maceió in 2021. Ground subsidence linked to salt mining forced about 60,000 people to leave. Photo: Vicente Brasileiro via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.
View over the city of Montes Claros, Minas Gerais
File photo: Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, where small earthquake swarms recur. Photo: Josue Marinho via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.

Related on ROR Labs

How this page is built. Figures come from the official statistical releases linked above; where agencies publish provisional numbers we say so, because they are revised. Brazil’s national death data come from the Ministry of Health mortality system (SIM/DATASUS) and are usually final about two years later, and some topics, such as fires, have no single national count, so we say which year and source each figure covers. Money is given in reais (R$). Headlines and quotes are our translations from Portuguese. Photos are public-domain or Creative Commons images credited in each caption; file photos are illustrative and are not from the events described unless the caption says so. This page tracks trends and is not personal safety, medical, legal or financial advice.