The Benavente earthquake, on 23rd April 1909, is considered the most devastating in continental Portugal in the 20th century.
With a short duration, about 22 seconds, and an estimated magnitude of 6.7 degrees on the Richter scale, this earthquake caused in the county only a few dozen dead and injured, a balance that was no longer dramatic because at the time it occurred, 5:05 pm, most of the population was working in the fields.
The villages violently affected were Benavente, Samora Correia and Santo Estevão.
