On Tuesday Night a Shallow M5.5 AFTERSHOCK struck in the Philippine Sea near Hualien City (Taiwan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 22nd, 2024. Last updated May 3rd, 2024.

In the Philippine Sea 36 kilometer from Hualien City, Taiwan, a shallow and significant M5.5 aftershock occurred in the night of Tuesday April 23rd, 2024. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 24 million people. 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), 36 kilometer south of Hualien City in Hualien County. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 17 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Apr 23, 2024 04:49 (Taipei Time) - Apr 22, 2024 20:49 Universal Time.
Location:	36 km south of Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan. Coordinates 23°39'4"N 121°36'22"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.5 Detected by 20 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.069 .
Depth:	17 km (10 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 24 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 24 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

An estimated 16,780 people were exposed to level VI. At this level, strong shaking and probably light damage can be expected. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 16 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected.

People in 3 countries have been exposed to shaking. In Taiwan , around 24 million people, with impact levels up to VI (strong shaking, probably light damage). A smaller number of people were exposed in the following countries: China and Japan.

Nearby towns and cities

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

Located 36 kilometer (22 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 V on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (moderate shaking, very light damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Taipei is located 155 km to the north and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Hualien City is located 36 km to the north and experienced an intensity of V (moderate shaking, very light damage). Taichung is located 109 km to the west-northwest and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

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 VI.

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 2 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 2 people have reported shaking in 2 places in 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: 1 person.
• Yangmei, Taoyuan, Taiwan: 1 person.

This is likely an aftershock

This earthquake is likely an aftershock of the MAG-6.1 earthquake that struck 2 hrs earlier. That main earthquake hit 9 km (5 mi) north-northeast of the epicenter of this MAG-5.5 aftershock.

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. In total, 62 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.5 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 2 months.

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 03/05/24 21:28 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000mt1n
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20240422_0000274
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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