The city has suffered from many severe earthquakes, the most disastrous of which occurred in 1854. The San Salvador volcano erupted again in 1917, resulting in three major earthquakes that damaged the city so extensively the government was forced to temporarily move the capital to the city of Santa Tecla (known at the time as ''Nueva San Salvador''). The 1986 San Salvador earthquake struck on 10 October 1986, causing considerable damage to the city and surrounding areas.