On Monday Afternoon a Shallow M5.3 FORESHOCK struck in the Philippine Sea near Hualien City (Taiwan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 22nd, 2024. Last updated May 4th, 2024.

A shallow and significant M5.3 foreshock struck in the Philippine Sea 31 kilometer from Hualien City, Taiwan in the late afternoon of Monday April 22nd, 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 (5 mi offshore), 31 kilometer south of Hualien City in Hualien County. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 9 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Apr 22, 2024 17:08 (Taipei Time) - Apr 22, 2024 09:08 Universal Time.
Location:	31 km south of Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan. Coordinates 23°42'1"N 121°36'35"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.3 Detected by 14 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.083 .
Depth:	9 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

This earthquake struck within proximity of multiple countries. Taiwan and Japan are both within 300km distance of its epicenter.

The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Hualien City in Hualien County, Taiwan. Hualien City is located 31 kilometer (19 mi) south of the epicenter.

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Taipei is located 150 km to the north. Hualien City is located 31 km to the north. Taichung is located 106 km to the west-northwest.

The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake.

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 7 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:

• Yungho, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 5 people.
• Taichung, Taichung Shih, Taiwan: 2 people.
• Sanchung, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 2 people.
• Chushan, Nantou, Taiwan: 1 person.
• Shulin, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
• Taipei, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
• Tanshui, 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?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

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 3rd, 2024, when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit 64 km (40 mi) further north-northeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck on April 2nd, 2024.

In total, 88 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.3 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 month.

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 09:38 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000mdsw
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20240422_0000100
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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