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

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.
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.
Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.

Shaking reported by 4 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 4 people have reported shaking in 4 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.
  • 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.
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.

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 October 31st, 2024, when a 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit 2.6 km (1.6 mi) further southwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck on April 2nd, 2024.

In total, 239 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

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. 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 02/12/24 20:18 (). 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.

  1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000nqa4
  2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241106_0000220
  3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
  4. Google Maps: Static API
  5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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