Just after midnight of Friday November 1st, 2024, a shallow and significant MAG-5.2 earthquake hit in the Philippine Sea 45 kilometer from Hualien City, Taiwan. 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 (6 mi offshore), 45 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: | Nov 1, 2024 00:18 (Taipei Time) - Oct 31, 2024 16:18 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 45 km south of Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan. Coordinates 23°34'17"N 121°35'51"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.2 Detected by 112 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.054 . |
| 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.
Hualien City in Hualien County, Taiwan is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 45 kilometer (28 mi) south of Hualien City.
Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Taipei is located 164 km to the north. Taichung is located 113 km to the northwest. Kaohsiung is located 169 km to the southwest.
A complete list of nearby places is included below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 45 km (28 mi) N from epicenter |
Hualien City Hualien County, Taiwan. |
| 78 km (48 mi) NW from epicenter |
Puli Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 88 km (55 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Lugu Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 102 km (63 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Nantou Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 102 km (63 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Zhongxing New Village Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 108 km (67 mi) W from epicenter |
Douliu Yunlin County, Taiwan. |
| 112 km (70 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Yuanlin Changhua County, Taiwan. |
| 113 km (70 mi) NW from epicenter |
Taichung Taichung City, Taiwan. |
| 126 km (78 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Yujing Tainan City, Taiwan. |
| 133 km (83 mi) N from epicenter |
Yilan Yilan County, Taiwan. |
| 149 km (93 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Daxi Taoyuan City , Taiwan. |
| 151 km (94 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Hsinchu Hsinchu County, Taiwan. |
| 155 km (96 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Tainan Tainan City, Taiwan. |
| 161 km (100 mi) N from epicenter |
Taoyuan City Taoyuan City , Taiwan. |
| 161 km (100 mi) N from epicenter |
Banqiao New Taipei City, Taiwan. |
| 164 km (102 mi) N from epicenter |
Taipei Taipei City, Taiwan. |
| 169 km (105 mi) SW from epicenter |
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, Taiwan. |
| 170 km (106 mi) SW from epicenter |
Donggang Pingtung County, Taiwan. |
| 174 km (108 mi) N from epicenter |
Keelung Keelung, Taiwan. |
| 195 km (121 mi) SSW from epicenter |
Hengchun Pingtung County, Taiwan. |
| 205 km (127 mi) W from epicenter |
Magong Penghu County , Taiwan. |
| 274 km (170 mi) ENE from epicenter |
Ishigaki Okinawa, Japan. |
Shaking reported by 6 people
People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 6 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:
- Hualian, Hualien, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Pingtung, Pingtung, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Wuchi, Taichung Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Taichung, Taichung Shih, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Chungho, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Yungho, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
Risk of aftershocks?
We monitor for foreshocks or aftershocks that have a magnitude of 2.5+ and occur within 100km (62 mi) of the epicenter of this earthquake. So far no such earthquakes have been detected.
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.
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.
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 26 km (16 mi) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck on April 2nd, 2024.
In total, 103 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.2 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
| 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 5.2. 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 04/11/24 15:38 (). 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.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000np7y
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241031_0000188
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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