Unusually powerful M7.4 Earthquake struck on Wednesday Morning in the Philippine Sea near Hualien City (Taiwan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 3rd, 2024. Last updated June 1st, 2024.

In the morning of Wednesday April 3rd, 2024, an unusually powerful Magnitude 7.4 earthquake hit in the Philippine Sea 16 kilometer from Hualien City, Taiwan. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Other nearby countries are Japan and China.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Philippine Sea, right off the coast of Taiwan (1 mi offshore), 16 kilometer south of Hualien City in Hualien County. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 40 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Apr 3, 2024 07:58 (Taipei Time) - Apr 2, 2024 23:58 Universal Time.
Location:	16 km south of Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan. Coordinates 23°50'7"N 121°35'52"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 7.4 Detected by 43 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.027 .
Depth:	40 km (25 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VIII Severe On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential tsunami risk The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Potential tsunami risk

There is a potential tsunami risk in the aftermath of this earthquake, immediately evacuate to higher grounds away from coastal areas and monitor advice from local authorities. The US Geographic Survey organization has indicated a potential risk for tsunami's following this earthquake.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Significant impact predicted

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

At least 17 people killed by rockfalls in Hualien, including 10 hikers in Tailuge Guojia Gonyuan, 5 on sections of the Provincial Highway and 2 at a mine near Xiulin. At least 1,145 people injured; 111 buildings destroyed; 1,939 houses, 870 buildings and 75 roads damaged, including 1,400 houses in Hualien; widespread gas, power and water outages occurred; railway service partially suspended across Taiwan. A total of 779 landslides occurred and a large portion of Guishan Dao collapsed into the ocean. A tsunami generated with maximum wave heights of 100 cm at Hualien, 82 cm at Toucheng and 45 cm at Chenggong, Taiwan; 30 cm on Miyako-jima and Yonaguni Jima and 20 cm on Ishigaki Jima, Ryukyu Islands.

Based on scientific estimates by the USGS, the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 41% likelyhood of between 10 and 100 fatalities, and a 90% chance that the number of fatalities falls between 1 and 1,000.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 35% likelyhood of between 10 and 100 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 93% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls between 1 and 10,000 million USD.

Roughly 35 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 35 million have been exposed to shaking (An MMI or Modified Mercalli Intensity level II or higher) as a result of this earthquake according scientific estimates published by the USGS.

An estimated 154,300 people were exposed to level VIII. At this level, severe shaking and likely moderate to heavy damage can be expected. Intensity level IV was experienced by a large group of people (around 14 million). In their region, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected.

People in 4 countries have been exposed to shaking. In Taiwan , around 24 million people, with impact levels up to VIII (severe shaking, likely moderate to heavy damage). In China , around 11 million people. Shaking was experienced by inhabitants of Japan too.

Nearby towns and cities

4 countries can be found within 300km of the epicenter of this earthquake: Taiwan , Japan and China . Futher away, this earthquake may also have been felt in The Philippines.

Located 16 kilometer (10 mi) south of the epicenter of this earthquake, Hualien City (Hualien County, Taiwan) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Hualien City is estimated to be around level VIII on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (severe shaking, likely moderate to heavy damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: Taipei is located 135 km to the north and experienced an intensity of VI (strong shaking, probably light damage). Hualien City is located 16 km to the north and experienced an intensity of VIII (severe shaking, likely moderate to heavy damage). Xiamen is located 364 km to the west (intensity unknown, possibly low).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is VIII.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 580 people in 4 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 580 people have reported shaking in 94 places in 4 countries (Taiwan, China, Japan, Philippines).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Yungho, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 112 people.
• Hualian, Hualien, Taiwan: 36 people.
• Taichung, Taichung Shih, Taiwan: 31 people.
• Taoyuan, Taoyuan, Taiwan: 25 people.
• Sanchung, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 21 people.
• Shanghai, Schanghai, China: 19 people.
• Hsichih, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 18 people.
• Fengshan, Kaohsiung Hsien, Taiwan: 17 people.
• Tainan, Tainan Shih, Taiwan: 16 people.
• Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung Shih, Taiwan: 14 people.

179 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 179 smaller aftershocks. Just 13 mins after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-6.4 was detected 31 km (19 mi) north-northeast of this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

This is an unusually powerful earthquake

No earthquake of this strength has struck this region for a long time. Our data goes back 10 years, and no earthquakes measuring a magnitude of 7.4 or higher have been detected within 300 km (186 mi) of this epicenter.

Sources

Last updated 01/06/24 02:28 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000m9g4
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20240402_0000281
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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