[1] On 5 June 1888, the Montevideo journal La Tribuna Popular reported the earthquake and its effects: The houses' woodwork creaked loudly, lamps swung, furniture moved and paintings fell off walls.

Astonished at the strong earthquake, inhabitants have had a sleepless night... Also, a Colonia del Sacramento local journal La Lucha reported on a particular event: The steamer 'Saturno' en route from the neighbouring country's capital (Buenos Aires) was calmly sailing in 20 feet (6 m) of water along the centre of the channel when she came to a sudden halt, as though she had run aground.

Every settlement along the Río de la Plata's shore was affected, especially the cities of Buenos Aires and Montevideo.

Such an event could therefore happen again in the River Plate as evidenced by 26 June 1988 and 10 January 1990 earthquakes, the latter being the only one registered on Uruguayan mainland territory.

These earthquakes are believed to have originated in a particular region, the Punta del Este basin, which is highly faulted and where tectonic plates might experience certain movement thus causing the earthquake waves, according to Alberto Benavídez Sosa MGEOPHYS, agronomical engineer and former president of CERESIS (Seismology Regional Centre for South America) Earthquakes in the easternmost edge of the Pacific tectonic plates can occasionally be felt in the Argentine Atlantic coast, including Buenos Aires and only rarely on the Uruguayan coast.