A moment magnitude 6.3–6.4 earthquake affected southeastern Mexico, in the states of Puebla and Veracruz, on 3 January 1920 at 22:25 local time.

The towns of Patlanalá, Barranca Grande, Cosautlán, Quimixtlán, Teocelo and Xalapa were severely affected, as many buildings were damaged or destroyed.

The earthquake occurred in a geological region of the North American plate called the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt.

The Veracruz government immediately provided assistance; Governor Cándido Aguilar formed a disaster relief board and travelled to several towns to participate in distributing resources.

The devastated towns of Xalapa, Coatepec, Cosautlán, Coscomatepec, Patlanalá, Quimixtlán, Huatusco and Ayahualco were given government funds for reconstruction.

Bishop Rafael Guízar y Valencia assisted in the relief efforts and donations, raising more than US$149,600 (equivalent to $2,274,600 in 2023) with the help of some newspapers that promoted his initiative.

[6] These volcanoes are distributed along a 1,000 km (620 mi) trend from the Pacific coast to the Gulf of Mexico, known as the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB).

[13] In 2008, the Comisión Federal de Electricidad published its seismic hazard model,[7][14] classifying cities along the TMVB as a moderate-hazard region.

[22] A 1996 study in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America identified a 15 km (9.3 mi) linear feature trending east–northeast located near the meizoseismal area which may represent the causative fault.

[17] A 70.8 km2 (27.3 sq mi) area,[23] including Chilchotla, Ixhuacán, Quimixtlán and Patlanalá and the epicenter, was assigned a Mercalli-Cancani intensity of XI–XII (Extreme) based on the damage severity.

[24] Light shaking was felt in Mexico City and parts of Oaxaca's Teotitlán, Cuicatlán and San Jerónimo districts.

[26] There had been foreshocks in the area two months earlier,[17] and an aftershock sequence that lasted until April 1920, with some felt 220 km (140 mi) away in Mexico City.

[31] The state experiences moderate seismicity compared to Mexico's Pacific coast,[32] where the subduction zone causes frequent earthquakes.

Early newspaper accounts estimated between 2,000 and 4,000 casualties,[35][36][37][38][39] but a 1922 field report by the Geological Institute of Mexico documented 648 fatalities.

[47] Many buildings in Xalapa, Coatepec, Teocelo, Cosautlán, Ixhuacán, Ayahualulco, Calcahualco, Coscomatepec, Alpatláhuac, Rinconada, Huatusco and Córdoba were affected.

[51] In Xalapa, the partial collapse of Dos Corazones church ruined nearby houses and injured several people, and an orphanage, government palace and municipal building were damaged.

On 6 January, Veracruz governor Cándido Aguilar formed a disaster relief board and, with military assistance, traveled to four towns, distributing money, food and clothing.

[62] Under his supervision, public infrastructure and buildings were rebuilt, and refugee shelters were established in severely impacted areas such as Teocelo.

[63] Aguilar also ordered civic and military forces in affected towns to support Harry Hopkins and Haner Borst of the American Red Cross, who, accompanied by Catholic priest Francisco J. Krill, assessed the impact and offered aid.

[53][46] The Sonora governor, Adolfo de la Huerta, donated US$2,000[j] (equivalent to $30,900 in 2023) to relief groups in Puebla and Veracruz.

[70] The Mexican diaspora in the United States also contributed to Guízar's fund, among them, the San Antonio-based Spanish-language newspaper La Presna raised US$15,000 (equivalent to $228,100 in 2023).