Written by on . Last updated November 2nd, 2024.

In the evening of Sunday October 27th, 2024, a shallow and significant Magnitude 5.1 earthquake hit in the Philippine Sea 7 kilometer from Hualien City, Taiwan. Another country near the epicenter is Japan.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Philippine Sea, right off the coast of Taiwan (4 mi offshore), 7 kilometer east of Hualien City in Hualien County. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 29 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time: Oct 27, 2024 18:21 (Taipei Time)
- Oct 27, 2024 10:21 Universal Time.
Location: 7 km east of Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan.
Coordinates 23°58'28"N 121°40'14"E.
Map: Map of area around epicenter.
Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude: MAG 5.1
Detected by 78 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.065 .
Depth: 29 km (18 mi)
A quite 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 7 kilometer (4 mi) east of the epicenter.

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Taipei is located 120 km to the north. Hualien City is located 7 km to the west. Taichung is located 102 km to the west.

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

Overview of nearby places

Distance Place
7 km (4 mi)
W from epicenter
Hualien City

Hualien County, Taiwan.
71 km (44 mi)
W from epicenter
Puli

Nantou County, Taiwan.
87 km (54 mi)
N from epicenter
Yilan

Yilan County, Taiwan.
97 km (60 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Lugu

Nantou County, Taiwan.
100 km (62 mi)
W from epicenter
Zhongxing New Village

Nantou County, Taiwan.
102 km (63 mi)
W from epicenter
Taichung

Taichung City, Taiwan.
103 km (64 mi)
W from epicenter
Nantou

Nantou County, Taiwan.
108 km (67 mi)
NNW from epicenter
Daxi

Taoyuan City , Taiwan.
111 km (69 mi)
W from epicenter
Yuanlin

Changhua County, Taiwan.
116 km (72 mi)
NW from epicenter
Hsinchu

Hsinchu County, Taiwan.
117 km (73 mi)
N from epicenter
Banqiao

New Taipei City, Taiwan.
118 km (73 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Douliu

Yunlin County, Taiwan.
119 km (74 mi)
NNW from epicenter
Taoyuan City

Taoyuan City , Taiwan.
120 km (75 mi)
N from epicenter
Taipei

Taipei City, Taiwan.
128 km (80 mi)
N from epicenter
Keelung

Keelung, Taiwan.
155 km (96 mi)
SW from epicenter
Yujing

Tainan City, Taiwan.
185 km (115 mi)
SW from epicenter
Tainan

Tainan City, Taiwan.
205 km (127 mi)
SW from epicenter
Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
209 km (130 mi)
SW from epicenter
Donggang

Pingtung County, Taiwan.
217 km (135 mi)
WSW from epicenter
Magong

Penghu County , Taiwan.
239 km (149 mi)
SSW from epicenter
Hengchun

Pingtung County, Taiwan.
256 km (159 mi)
E from epicenter
Ishigaki

Okinawa, Japan.
Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.

Shaking reported by 22 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 22 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:

  • Chushan, Nantou, Taiwan: 16 people.
  • Yungho, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 2 people.
  • Hsinchu, Hsinchu Shih, Taiwan: 1 person.
  • Fenglin, Hualien, Taiwan: 1 person.
  • Hualian, Hualien, Taiwan: 1 person.
  • Taichung, Taichung Shih, Taiwan: 1 person.

Aftershocks detected

In the days before this main shock, 1 smaller foreshock was detected. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 3 days earlier. It measured a magnitude of 4.2

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Classification Magnitude When Where
Foreshock M 4.2 3 days earlier
Oct 24, 2024 23:59 (Taipei Time)
87 km (54 mi)
ENE from Main Shock.
Main Shock
This Earthquake
M 5.1 Oct 27, 2024 18:21
(Taipei Time)
-
Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.

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.

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 August 15th, 2024, when a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit 27 km (17 mi) further south-southeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck on April 2nd, 2024.

In total, 142 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 26 days.

Low tsunami risk

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

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

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 This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea. Not this earthquake.
This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 29 km (18 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 02/11/24 09:58 (). 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 us7000nngq
  2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241027_0000121
  3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
  4. Google Maps: Static API
  5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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