List of earthquakes in Taiwan
Plot of earthquake data (left) and the fault distribution in Taiwan
3D block diagram showing plate tectonic setting of Taiwan Taiwan is in a seismically active zone, on the Pacific Ring of Fire , and at the western edge of the Philippine Sea plate .[ 1] active faults on the island, but most of the earthquakes detected in Taiwan are due to the convergence of the Philippine Sea plate and the Eurasian plate to the east of the island.[ 1] [ 2] Dutch Formosa .[ 3] [ 4] 2024 Hualien earthquake , and the most recent major earthquake with a high death toll was the 921 earthquake , which struck on 21 September 1999, and claimed 2,415 lives.
Many modern buildings in Taiwan are constructed with earthquake safety in mind, such as the tallest building in Taiwan, Taipei 101 , which had to cope with the dual challenges of being flexible enough to withstand earthquakes, yet rigid enough to resist wind shear. The High Speed Rail system incorporates an automatic safety device to safely bring all trains to a halt when a significant earthquake is detected.[ 5] 1906 Meishan earthquake and the 1999 Jiji earthquake . Inside Taiwan the Central Weather Bureau is the organisation responsible for monitoring and reporting on earthquakes. Large earthquakes are also assessed by the United States Geological Survey . Scientific studies of the seismology of the island started in the Japanese era , when the first seismograph was installed in Taipei by Fusakichi Omori 's company.[ 6]
Earthquakes
Significant earthquakes are listed here from 1736 to the present. Starting with the Japanese era in 1895 there were major improvements in detection technology, allowing more detailed gathering of data.
Date
Areas
Lat
Long
Depth
Mag.
MMI
Deaths
Injuries
Houses destroyed / notes
2024-04-03 Hualien
23.819
121.562
34.8
7.4 Mw
VIII
18
1,145+
Some buildings collapsed / Bridge collapsed
[ 7] [ 8]
2022-09-18 Taitung
23.159
121.316
10.0
6.9 Mw
IX
1
171
Some buildings collapsed / Bridge collapsed
2022-03-22
Taitung
23.409
121.559
24.0
6.7 Mw
VII
1
Power outages / Bridge collapsed
[ 9] [ 10]
2022-01-03
Hualien
23.997
122.235
28.7
6.2 Mw
IV
Some buildings were damaged
[ 11] [ 12] [ 13] [ 14]
2021-10-24
Yilan
24.571
121.830
64.5
6.2 Mw
VI
1
[ 15]
2021-07-13
Hualien
23.902
121.623
10.0
5.2 Mw
III
Minor damage
[ 16] [ 17]
2019-08-07
Yilan
24.478
121.930
20.8
5.8 Mw
VI
1
[ 18]
2019-04-18 Hualien
24.037
121.650
20.0
6.1 Mw
VI
1
16
[ 19]
2018-02-06 Hualien
24.134
121.659
17.0
6.4 Mw
VIII
17
277
Some buildings collapsed
[ 20] [ 21]
2018-02-04
Hualien
24.157
121.708
12.0
6.1 Mw
VI
[ 22]
2017-02-10
Tainan
22.83
120.22
15.8
5.3 Mw
VII
4
Power outages
[ 23]
2016-02-06 Tainan, Kaohsiung
22.94
120.59
23
6.4 Mw
VII
117
550
9
[ 24] [ 25]
2015-04-20
Yilan
24.05
122.37
5
6.4 Mw
V
1
2013-10-31
Hualien
23.62
121.43
19.5
6.3 Mw
VII
0
2013-06-02 Island-wide
23.87
121.0
10.0
6.2 Mw
VII
5
18
2013-03-27 Island-wide
23.9
121.07
19.4
5.9 Mw
V
1
97
2012-02-26
Pingtung
22.75
120.75
26.3
6.4
0
2010-03-04 Kaohsiung
22.92
120.73
5
6.3 Mw
VI
96
2009-12-19 Hualien
23.76
121.69
43
6.4 Mw
VI
6
2006-12-26 Pingtung
21.69
120.56
44.1
7.1 Mw
VII
2
3
21.97
120.42
50.2
6.9 Mw
V
2004-10-15
Yilan, Su-ao
24.5
122.696
6.7 Mw
[ 26]
2004-05-01
Hualien
24.1
121.95
17.8
5.8
2
2002-05-15
Yilan, Hualien
24.6
121.9
5
6.2 Mw
VI
1
2002-03-31 Hualien, Taipei
24.2
122.1
9.6
7.1 Mw
7
6
2000-06-11
Nantou
23.9
121.1
10.2
6.4 Mw
2
2000-05-17
Nantou
24.2
121.1
3
5.3
3
1999-09-21 Island-wide
23.9
120.8
8
7.7 Mw
X+
2,415
[ 27]
1998-07-17
Nantou
23.5
120.7
3
6.2
5
1995-06-25
Yilan
24.6
121.7
40
6.0 Mw
1
6
1995-02-23
Hualien
24.2
121.7
21.7
6.2 Mw
2
1994-09-16 Taiwan Strait
22.5
118.7
13
6.8 Mw
0
0
1994-06-05
Yilan
24.4
121.8
5.3
6.4 Mw
VII
1
1
1990-12-13
Hualien
23.9
121.5
3
6.7 Mw
VII
2
3
1986-11-15
Hualien
24.0
121.8
15
7.4 Mw
VII
15
37
1986-05-20
Hualien
24.1
121.6
16
6.2 Mw
VIII
1
1982-01-23
Yilan, Hualien
24.0
121.6
3
6.5
1
1978-12-13
Hualien
23.3
121.6
4
7.0 Mw
VI
2
1972-04-24 Hualien
23.5
121.4
15
7.0 Mw
VII
5
50
1972-01-25
Taitung
22.5
122.3
33
7.3 Mw
VI
1
5
1967-10-25
Yilan
24.4
122.1
20
6.8 Mw
VII
2
21
1966-03-13 Hualien
24.2
122.7
42
7.5 Mw
VII
4
24
1964-01-18 Chiayi, Tainan
23.2
120.6
18
6.5 Mw
VI
106
10,924
1963-03-04
Yilan
24.6
121.1
5
6.3 Mw
1
1963-02-13 Yilan
24.35
122.06
47
7.2 Mw
VII
3–15
3–18
6
1959-08-15 Pingtung 21.7
121.3
20
7.1
16
1,214
1959-04-27
Northeast Taiwan
24.1
123.0
150
7.7
1
9
1957-10-20
Hualien
23.7
121.5
10
6.6
4
1957-02-24
Hualien
23.8
121.8
30
7.3
11
44
1951-11-25
Taitung
23.3
121.3
30
7.8Mw
17
1951-10-22 Hualien
23.9
121.7
25
7.5Mw
68
1946-12-05 Tainan
23.1
120.3
5
6.1
74
1,954
1943-12-02
Taitung 22.5
121.5
40
6.8 Mw
3
139
1943-10-23
Hualien
23.8
121.5
5
6.2
1
1
1941-12-17 Chiayi
23.4
120.5
12
7.2Mw
360
4,520
1935-07-17
Hsinchu, Taichung
24.6
120.7
30
6.2
44
1,734
1935-04-21 Miaoli, Taichung
24.4
120.8
5
7.1Mw
3,276
17,907
1930-12-08
Tainan
23.3
120.4
20
6.3 Mw
4
49
1927-08-25
Tainan
23.3
120.5
6.8 Muk
9–30
27–100
200–214
[ 28]
1922-12-02
Hualien
24.6
122.0
6.0
1
1
1922-10-15
Hualien
24.6
122.3
20
5.9
6
1922-09-22
Hualien
24.5
122
20
7.6
5
14
1920-06-05 Hualien
24.6
121.9
20
8.2
8
24
273
1917-01-07
Central Taiwan
23.9
120.9
shallow
5.5
187
1917-01-05
Central Taiwan
24.0
121.0
shallow
6.2
54
130
1916-11-15
Central Taiwan
24.1
120.9
3
6.2
1
97
1916-08-28 Central Taiwan
24.0
121.0
45
6.8
16
614
1910-04-12 Keelung
25.1
122.9
200
8.3
60
13
1909-04-15
Taipei
23.7
121.5
80
7.3
9
122
1908-01-11
Hualien 23.7
121.4
10
7.3
2
3
1906-04-14
Tainan
23.4
120.4
20
6.6
15
1,794
1906-03-17 Chiayi
23.6
120.5
6
6.8
IX
1,258–1,266
2,385– 2,476 14,218–30,021
1904-11-06 Chiayi
23.6
120.3
7
6.1
145
661
1904-04-24
Chiayi
23.5
120.3
–
6.1
3
66
1897-03-15
Yilan , Taipei–
–
–
–
56
50
1882-12-09
Island-wide
23.0
121.4
–
~7.5
10
40
1881-02-18
Taipei, Hsinchu, Miaoli
24.6
120.7
–
~6.2
11
210
1867-12-18 Greater Taipei 25.3
121.7
–
~7.0
580
1865-11-06
Taipei 24.9
121.6
–
~6.0
"many"
1862-06-07
Changhua
23.2
120.2
–
~7.0
over 500
over 500
1848-12-03
Chiayi
24.1
120.5
–
~7.1
1,030
13,993
1845-03-04
Taichung 24.1
120.7
–
~6.0
381
4220
1815-10-13
From Chiayi northwards
24.0
121.7
–
~7.7
113
243
1811-03-17
From Chiayi northwards
23.8
121.8
–
~7.5
21
41
1792-08-09
Yunlin 23.6
120.5
–
~7.1
617
24,621
1736-01-30
Tainan 23.1
120.5
–
~6.5
372
698
Muk = Unknown magnitude scale , ML = Richter scale , Ms = surface-wave magnitude , and Mw = moment magnitude scale . The inclusion criteria for adding events are based on WikiProject Earthquakes ' notability guideline that was developed for stand alone articles. The principles described are also applicable to lists. In summary, only damaging, injurious, or deadly events should be recorded.
See also
References
^ a b Taiwan Yearbook 2005, p. 23
^ Yu, S.B.; Chen, H.Y.; Kuo, L.C. (1997). "Velocity field of GPS stations in the Taiwan area". Tectonophysics . 274 (1– 3): 41– 59. Bibcode :1997Tectp.274...41Y . doi :10.1016/S0040-1951(96)00297-1 . ^ 二十世紀前 (1604–1900) 台灣地區的地震記載 the original on 2010-12-14. Retrieved 2009-07-20 .^ 二十世紀 (1901–2000) 台灣地區災害性地震 Central Weather Bureau . Archived from the original on 2018-04-25. Retrieved 2009-07-17 .^ "SHATTERED BELIEF: Biting the bullet" . The Asahi Shimbun . Retrieved 2009-07-20 .^ Davidson, Charles (1927). The Founders of Seismology ^ National Earthquake Information Center (3 April 2024). "M 7.4 – 18 km SSW of Hualien City, Taiwan" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 3 April 2024 . ^ "快訊／花蓮7.2地震！整棟大樓「整根拔起」倒塌 驚悚畫面曝光" (in Chinese). TVBS . 3 April 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2024 .^ "M 6.7 – 63 km S of Hualien City, China Taiwan" . United States Geological Survey.^ "更新【國家級警報】台灣3/23清晨連六震! 最強規模6.6 花蓮玉里鎮玉興橋新建橋面震垮!" . Taiwan News . Retrieved 22 March 2022 .^ "M 6.2 – 64 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan" . United States Geological Survey.^ "地震規模6.0 北市2建物磁磚掉落無傷亡" (in Chinese). Yahoo News. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022 .^ "雙北地震搖很大！三重1213戶停電 台電：已全數復電" . udn.com (in Chinese). 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022 .^ "Taiwan's first earthquake for 2022 a magnitude 6: some minor damage, no casualties reported" . taiwanenglishnews.com . 3 January 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2022 .^ "M 6.2 – 21 km SSE of Yilan, Taiwan" . United States Geological Survey.^ "M 5.2 – 8 km SSE of Hualien City, Taiwan" . United States Geological Survey.^ "Series of earthquakes in eastern Taiwan causes some damage" . The Asahi Shimbun .^ "M 5.8 – 35 km SSE of Yilan, Taiwan" . United States Geological Survey.^ "M 6.1 – 8 km NE of Hualien City, Taiwan" . United States Geological Survey.^ "M 6.4 – 18 km NNE of Hualien City, Taiwan" . United States Geological Survey.^ "Earthquake – Magnitude 6.4 – TAIWAN – 2018 February 06" .^ "M 6.1 – 22 km NNE of Hualien City, Taiwan" . United States Geological Survey.^ "M 5.3 – 18 km S of Tainan, Taiwan" . United States Geological Survey.^ "M 6.4 – 25 km SE of Yujing, Taiwan" . United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2018-02-09 .^ 交通部中央氣象局 (2018-01-18). "中央氣象局全球資訊網" . 中央氣象局全球資訊網 . Retrieved 2018-02-09 . ^ "地震資訊 第094號 10月15日12時8分 規模7.1 宜蘭蘇澳地震站東方 101.8 公里 – 中央氣象署地震測報中心" . scweb.cwa.gov.tw (in Chinese). Retrieved 2024-04-04 .^ "Original ArticleMortality of the 921 Earthquake in Nantou and Taichung Counties" .^ NGDC 1972
Sources:
External links
Earthquakes
Before 20th century 20th century 21st century
Organisations
