List of earthquakes in Taiwan

Plot of earthquake data on map of Taiwan.

This list of earthquakes in Taiwan charts significant earthquakes which have affected the island 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] Geologists have identified 42 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] Most of the earthquakes registered in Taiwan actually occur off the east coast and cause little damage, whereas smaller quakes beneath the island itself have historically proven more destructive. The first recorded earthquake in Taiwan was in 1624, the founding year of Dutch Formosa.[3] Between 1901 and the year 2000 there were 91 major earthquakes in Taiwan, 48 of them resulting in loss of life.[4] The most recent major earthquake 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, including 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] Nevertheless, poor construction standards have been blamed for casualties in a number of major earthquakes, including the 1906 Meishan earthquake and the 921 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
(km)		 Mag. MMI Deaths Injuries Houses destroyed / notes
2018-02-06Hualien24.10121.7517.06.4 MwVIII17277 some buildings collapsed[7]
2017-02-10Tainan, Taipei22.83120.2215.85.3 MwVII4power outage[8]
2016-02-06Tainan, Kaohsiung22.94120.59236.4 MwVII1175509[9][10]
2015-04-20Hualien, Taipei24.05122.3756.31
2013-10-31Hualien23.62121.4319.56.30
2013-06-02Island-wide23.87121.010.06.2 Mw518
2013-03-27Island-wide23.9121.0719.45.9 MwV197
2012-02-26Pingtung22.75120.7526.36.40
2010-03-04Kaohsiung22.92120.7356.3 MwVI96
2009-12-19Hualien23.76121.69436.4 MwVI6
2006-12-26Pingtung21.69120.5644.17.023
21.97120.4250.27.0
2004-05-01Hualien24.1121.9517.85.82
2002-05-15Yilan, Hualien24.6121.956.21
2002-03-31Hualien, Taipei24.2122.19.67.1 Mw76
2000-06-11Nantou23.9121.110.26.72
2000-05-17Nantou24.2121.135.33
1999-09-21Island-wide23.9120.887.32,41551,711
1998-07-17Nantou23.5120.736.25
1995-06-25Yilan, Hualien24.6121.7406.516
1995-02-23Hualien24.2121.721.75.82
1994-09-16Taiwan Strait22.5118.7136.800
1994-06-05Yilan, Hualien24.4121.85.36.211
1990-12-13Hualien23.9121.536.523
1986-11-15Hualien24.0121.8156.81537
1986-05-20Hualien24.1121.6166.21
1982-01-23Yilan, Hualien24.0121.636.51
1978-12-13Hualien23.3121.646.82
1972-04-24Hualien23.5121.4156.9550
1972-01-25Taitung22.5122.3337.315
1967-10-25Yilan24.4122.1206.1221
1966-03-13Hualien24.2122.7427.8424
1964-01-18Chiayi, Tainan23.2120.6186.310610,924
1963-03-04Yilan24.6121.156.41
1963-02-13Yilan24.35122.06477.3 Mw3–153–186
1959-08-15Pingtung21.7121.3207.1161,214
1959-04-27Northeast Taiwan24.1123.01507.719
1957-10-20Hualien23.7121.5106.64
1957-02-24Hualien23.8121.8307.31144
1951-11-25Hualien23.3121.37.317
1951-10-22Hualien23.9121.747.368
1946-12-05Tainan23.1120.356.1741,954
1943-12-02Taitung22.5121.5406.13139
1943-10-23Hualien23.8121.556.211
1941-12-17Chiayi23.4120.5127.13604,520
1935-07-17Hsinchu, Taichung24.6120.7306.2441,734
1935-04-21Miaoli, Taichung24.4120.857.13,27617,907
1930-12-08Tainan23.3120.4206.1449
1927-08-25Tainan23.3120.56.8 Muk9–3027–100200–214NGDC
1922-12-02Hualien24.6122.06.011
1922-10-15Hualien24.6122.3205.96
1922-09-22Hualien24.5122207.6514
1920-06-05Hualien24.6121.9208.35273
1917-01-07Central Taiwan23.9120.9shallow5.5187
1917-01-05Central Taiwan24.0121.0shallow6.254130
1916-11-15Central Taiwan24.1120.936.2197
1916-08-28Central Taiwan24.0121.0456.816614
1910-04-12Keelung25.1122.92008.313
1909-04-15Taipei23.7121.5807.39122
1908-01-11Hualien23.7121.4107.323
1906-04-14Tainan23.4120.4206.6151,794
1906-03-17Chiayi23.6120.566.8 MsIX1,258–1,2662,385– 2,47614,218–30,021
1904-11-06Chiayi23.6120.376.1145661
1904-04-24Chiayi23.5120.3–6.1366
1897-03-15Yilan, Taipei––––5650
1882-12-09Island-wide23.0121.4–~7.51040
1881-02-18Taipei, Hsinchu, Miaoli24.6120.7–~6.211210
1867-12-18Taipei, Keelung, Hsinchu25.3121.7–~7.0hundreds
1865-11-06Taipei, Keelung24.9121.6–~6.0"many"
1862-06-07Tainan, Chiayi, Changhua23.2120.2–~7.0over 500over 500
1848-12-03Tainan, Changhua, Chiayi24.1120.5–~7.11,03013,993
1845-03-04Chiayi, Changhua, Taichung24.1120.7–~6.03814220
1815-10-13From Chiayi northwards24.0121.7–~7.7113243
1811-03-17From Chiayi northwards23.8121.8–~7.52141
1792-08-09Chiayi, Changhua, Yunlin23.6120.5–~7.161724,621
1736-01-30Tainan23.1120.5–~6.5372698
Muk = Unknown magnitude scale, ML = Richter magnitude 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.

References

  1. 1 2 Taiwan Yearbook 2005, p. 23
  2. ↑ Yu, S.B.; Chen, H.Y.; Kuo, L.C. (1997). "Velocity field of GPS stations in the Taiwan area". Tectonophysics. 274 (274): 41–59. Bibcode:1997Tectp.274...41Y. doi:10.1016/S0040-1951(96)00297-1.
  3. ↑ 二十世紀前 (1604–1900) 台灣地區的地震記載. Central Weather Bureau. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  4. ↑ 二十世紀 (1901–2000) 台灣地區災害性地震 (in Chinese). Central Weather Bureau. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  5. ↑ "SHATTERED BELIEF: Biting the bullet". Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  6. ↑ Davidson, Charles (1927). The Founders of Seismology. p. 223.
  7. ↑ "Earthquake - Magnitude 6.4 - TAIWAN - 2018 February 06".
  8. ↑ USGS. "M 5.3 - 18km S of Tainan, Taiwan". United States Geological Survey.
  9. ↑ "M 6.4 - 25km SE of Yujing, Taiwan". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  10. ↑ 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.

Sources:

  • Central Weather Bureau
  • NGDC, Significant Earthquake Database, National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA, doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
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