On Sunday Morning a Shallow M5.1 FORESHOCK struck in the Philippine Sea near Hualien City (Taiwan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 21st, 2024. Last updated May 4th, 2024.

In the Philippine Sea 58 kilometer from Hualien City, Taiwan, a shallow and significant MAG-5.1 foreshock occurred in the morning of Sunday April 21st, 2024. Another nearby country is Japan.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Philippine Sea, right off the coast of Taiwan (9 mi offshore), 58 kilometer south of Hualien City in Hualien County. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Apr 21, 2024 10:40 (Taipei Time) - Apr 21, 2024 02:40 Universal Time.
Location:	58 km south of Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan. Coordinates 23°27'19"N 121°37'44"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.1 Detected by 6 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.127 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Nearby towns and cities

Taiwan and Japan are both located within 300km distance of the epicenter of the earthquake.

The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Hualien City in Hualien County, Taiwan. Hualien City is located 58 kilometer (36 mi) south of the epicenter.

Major cities near this earthquake: Taipei is located 177 km to the north. Kaohsiung is located 164 km to the southwest. Taichung is located 123 km to the northwest.

A complete list of nearby places is included below.

Overview of nearby places

Shaking reported by 13 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 13 people have reported shaking in 11 places, all within Taiwan.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Sanchung, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 2 people.
• Yungho, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 2 people.
• Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung Shih, Taiwan: 1 person.
• Puli, Nantou, Taiwan: 1 person.
• Tali, Taichung Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
• Taichung, Taichung Shih, Taiwan: 1 person.
• Hsichih, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
• Hsintien, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
• Luchou, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
• Shulin, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.

This is likely a foreshock

This earthquake was followed by a stronger MAG-6.1 earthquake, classifying this earthquake as a foreshock.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since April 6th, 2024, when a 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit 45 km (28 mi) further north. An even stronger magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck on April 2nd, 2024.

In total, 120 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 30 days.

Low tsunami risk

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 04/05/24 03:48 (). 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 us7000mdkn
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20240421_0000030
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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