A shallow and significant Magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck in the Philippine Sea 48 kilometer from Hualien City, Taiwan in the night of Thursday November 7th, 2024. 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 (11 mi offshore), 48 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 7, 2024 01:19 (Taipei Time) - Nov 6, 2024 17:19 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 48 km south of Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan. Coordinates 23°32'46"N 121°39'58"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.0 Detected by 21 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.068 . |
| 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
2 countries can be found within 300km of the epicenter of this earthquake: Taiwan and Japan .
Located 48 kilometer (30 mi) south of the epicenter of this earthquake, Hualien City (Hualien County, Taiwan) is the nearest significant population center.
Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Taipei is located 168 km to the north. Kaohsiung is located 173 km to the southwest. Taichung is located 120 km to the west-northwest.
The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 48 km (30 mi) N from epicenter |
Hualien City Hualien County, Taiwan. |
| 85 km (53 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Puli Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 96 km (60 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Lugu Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 110 km (68 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Nantou Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 110 km (68 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Zhongxing New Village Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 116 km (72 mi) W from epicenter |
Douliu Yunlin County, Taiwan. |
| 120 km (75 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Taichung Taichung City, Taiwan. |
| 120 km (75 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Yuanlin Changhua County, Taiwan. |
| 132 km (82 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Yujing Tainan City, Taiwan. |
| 135 km (84 mi) N from epicenter |
Yilan Yilan County, Taiwan. |
| 154 km (96 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Daxi Taoyuan City , Taiwan. |
| 157 km (98 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Hsinchu Hsinchu County, Taiwan. |
| 161 km (100 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Tainan Tainan City, Taiwan. |
| 164 km (102 mi) N from epicenter |
Banqiao New Taipei City, Taiwan. |
| 165 km (103 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Taoyuan City Taoyuan City , Taiwan. |
| 168 km (104 mi) N from epicenter |
Taipei Taipei City, Taiwan. |
| 173 km (107 mi) SW from epicenter |
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, Taiwan. |
| 173 km (107 mi) SW from epicenter |
Donggang Pingtung County, Taiwan. |
| 176 km (109 mi) N from epicenter |
Keelung Keelung, Taiwan. |
| 196 km (122 mi) SSW from epicenter |
Hengchun Pingtung County, Taiwan. |
| 212 km (132 mi) W from epicenter |
Magong Penghu County , Taiwan. |
| 268 km (167 mi) ENE from epicenter |
Ishigaki Okinawa, Japan. |
Shaking reported by 517 people in 2 countries
People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 517 people have reported shaking in 9 places in 2 countries (Taiwan, China).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: 280 people.
- Fenglin, Hualien, Taiwan: 87 people.
- Lotung, Ilan, Taiwan: 77 people.
- Chutung, Hsinchu Hsien, Taiwan: 40 people.
- Puli, Nantou, Taiwan: 26 people.
- Longyan, Fujian, China: 4 people.
- Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung Shih, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Shalu, Taichung Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Taichung, Taichung Shih, Taiwan: 1 person.
Aftershocks detected
After this earthquake struck, 1 smaller aftershock occurred. At a distance of 30 km (18 mi) north-northwest of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 1 min later. It measured a magnitude of 4.1
This main shock was prefaced by 1 smaller foreshock. Roughly 23 hrs before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-4.6 was detected nearby this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 4.6 |
23 hrs earlier Nov 6, 2024 02:08 (Taipei Time) | 63 km (39 mi) NNE from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.0 |
Nov 7, 2024 01:19 (Taipei Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 4.1 |
1 min later Nov 7, 2024 01:20 (Taipei Time) | 30 km (18 mi) NNW from 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.
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
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 November 2nd, 2024, when a 5 magnitude earthquake hit 266 km (165 mi) further south-southwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck on April 2nd, 2024.
In total, 240 earthquakes with a magnitude of 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 15 days.
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. 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 07/11/24 00:48 (). 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 us7000nqa4
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241106_0000220
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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