Under land 52 kilometer from Tainan in Taiwan, a shallow MAG-4.3 earthquake occurred in the afternoon of Sunday October 27th, 2024. The earthquake struck near a very densely populated region. Another country near the epicenter is China.
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Earthquake Summary
The earthquake struck on land in Taiwan, 52 kilometer (32 mi) north-northeast of Tainan in Tainan City. 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: | Oct 27, 2024 14:19 (Taipei Time) - Oct 27, 2024 06:19 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 52 km NNE of Tainan, Tainan City, Taiwan. Coordinates 23°25'2"N 120°26'1"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 4.3 Detected by 21 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.068 . |
| Depth: | 10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here. |
Nearby towns and cities
This earthquake struck within proximity of multiple countries. Taiwan and China are both within 300km distance of its epicenter.
Yujing in Tainan City, Taiwan is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 33 kilometer (21 mi) north of Yujing.
Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Taipei is located 213 km to the north-northeast. Xiamen is located 267 km to the west-northwest. Kaohsiung is located 90 km to the south.
A complete list of nearby places is included below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 33 km (21 mi) S from epicenter |
Yujing Tainan City, Taiwan. |
| 34 km (21 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Douliu Yunlin County, Taiwan. |
| 49 km (30 mi) NE from epicenter |
Lugu Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 52 km (32 mi) SSW from epicenter |
Tainan Tainan City, Taiwan. |
| 60 km (37 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Nantou Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 62 km (39 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Yuanlin Changhua County, Taiwan. |
| 65 km (40 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Zhongxing New Village Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 82 km (51 mi) NE from epicenter |
Puli Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 85 km (53 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Taichung Taichung City, Taiwan. |
| 88 km (55 mi) W from epicenter |
Magong Penghu County , Taiwan. |
| 90 km (56 mi) S from epicenter |
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, Taiwan. |
| 106 km (66 mi) S from epicenter |
Donggang Pingtung County, Taiwan. |
| 134 km (83 mi) ENE from epicenter |
Hualien City Hualien County, Taiwan. |
| 160 km (99 mi) SSE from epicenter |
Hengchun Pingtung County, Taiwan. |
| 163 km (101 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Hsinchu Hsinchu County, Taiwan. |
| 185 km (115 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Daxi Taoyuan City , Taiwan. |
| 196 km (122 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Taoyuan City Taoyuan City , Taiwan. |
| 200 km (124 mi) NE from epicenter |
Yilan Yilan County, Taiwan. |
| 206 km (128 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Banqiao New Taipei City, Taiwan. |
| 213 km (132 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Taipei Taipei City, Taiwan. |
| 232 km (144 mi) NE from epicenter |
Keelung Keelung, Taiwan. |
| 243 km (151 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Jincheng Fukien, Taiwan. |
| 245 km (152 mi) NW from epicenter |
Jinjiang Fujian, China. |
| 247 km (153 mi) NW from epicenter |
Luoyang Fujian, China. |
| 251 km (156 mi) NW from epicenter |
Quanzhou Fujian, China. |
| 262 km (163 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Jiangkou Fujian, China. |
| 267 km (166 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Putian Fujian, China. |
| 267 km (166 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Xiamen Fujian, China. |
| 271 km (168 mi) NW from epicenter |
Ximeicun Fujian, China. |
| 278 km (173 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Fuqing Fujian, China. |
| 290 km (180 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Shima Fujian, China. |
Shaking reported by 8 people
People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 8 people have reported shaking in 6 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:
- Chiayi, Chiayi Shih, Taiwan: 2 people.
- Tainan, Tainan Shih, Taiwan: 2 people.
- Toufen, Miaoli, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Hsintien, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Sanchung, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Yingko, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
2 Aftershocks detected
Since this main shock, 2 smaller aftershocks were detected. At a distance of 6 km (4 mi) east-southeast of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 10 mins later. It measured a magnitude of 4.3
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 4.3 |
Oct 27, 2024 14:19 (Taipei Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 4.3 |
10 mins later Oct 27, 2024 14:28 (Taipei Time) | 6 km (4 mi) ESE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 4.2 |
38 mins later Oct 27, 2024 14:56 (Taipei Time) | 3 km (2.1 mi) SSE from Main Shock. |
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.
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.
Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).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 October 26th, 2024, when a 4.5 magnitude earthquake hit 184 km (115 mi) further south-southeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck on April 2nd, 2024.
In total, 1464 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.3 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 2 days.
Tsunami very unlikely
While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.
Tsunami Risk Factors
| Factor | Under Sea? | MAG-6.5 or stronger? | Shallow depth? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explanation | Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami. | Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's. |
Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor. |
| This Earthquake | Not this earthquake. This earthquake appears to have struck on land far from any coast. |
Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 4.3. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 21/11/24 00:38 (). 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.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000nnfp
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241027_0000074
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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