Written by on . Last updated November 15th, 2024.

A shallow MAG-4.6 earthquake struck in the Philippine Sea 13 kilometer from Hualien City, Taiwan in the morning of Thursday November 14th, 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 (5 mi offshore), 13 kilometer south-southeast of Hualien City in Hualien County. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 26 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time: Nov 14, 2024 10:38 (Taipei Time)
- Nov 14, 2024 02:38 Universal Time.
Location: 13 km SSE of Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan.
Coordinates 23°52'14"N 121°39'41"E.
Map: Map of area around epicenter.
Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude: MAG 4.6
Detected by 18 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.073 .
Depth: 26 km (16 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

This earthquake struck within proximity of multiple countries. Taiwan and Japan are both within 300km distance of its epicenter.

The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Hualien City in Hualien County, Taiwan. Hualien City is located 13 kilometer (8 mi) south-southeast of the epicenter.

Major cities near this earthquake: Taipei is located 132 km to the north. Hualien City is located 13 km to the north-northwest. Taichung is located 104 km to the west-northwest.

A complete list of nearby places is included below.

Overview of nearby places

Distance Place
13 km (8 mi)
NNW from epicenter
Hualien City

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

Nantou County, Taiwan.
93 km (58 mi)
W from epicenter
Lugu

Nantou County, Taiwan.
99 km (62 mi)
N from epicenter
Yilan

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

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

Nantou County, Taiwan.
104 km (65 mi)
WNW from epicenter
Taichung

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

Changhua County, Taiwan.
115 km (71 mi)
W from epicenter
Douliu

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

Taoyuan City , Taiwan.
125 km (78 mi)
NW from epicenter
Hsinchu

Hsinchu County, Taiwan.
129 km (80 mi)
N from epicenter
Banqiao

New Taipei City, Taiwan.
130 km (81 mi)
NNW from epicenter
Taoyuan City

Taoyuan City , Taiwan.
132 km (82 mi)
N from epicenter
Taipei

Taipei City, Taiwan.
140 km (87 mi)
N from epicenter
Keelung

Keelung, Taiwan.
148 km (92 mi)
SW from epicenter
Yujing

Tainan City, Taiwan.
177 km (110 mi)
SW from epicenter
Tainan

Tainan City, Taiwan.
196 km (122 mi)
SW from epicenter
Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
199 km (124 mi)
SW from epicenter
Donggang

Pingtung County, Taiwan.
214 km (133 mi)
W from epicenter
Magong

Penghu County , Taiwan.
228 km (142 mi)
SSW from epicenter
Hengchun

Pingtung County, Taiwan.
259 km (161 mi)
ENE from epicenter
Ishigaki

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

Shaking reported by 2 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 2 people have reported shaking in 2 places in 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:

  • Taichung, Taichung Shih, Taiwan: 1 person.
  • Yungho, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.

Risk of aftershocks?

We have not yet detected any foreshocks or aftershocks (MAG-2.5 or higher) within 100km (62 mi) of this earthquake.

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.

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 6th, 2024, when a 5 magnitude earthquake hit 36 km (22 mi) further south. An even stronger magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck on April 2nd, 2024.

In total, 552 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.6 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 7 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 4.6. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 26 km (16 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 15/11/24 07:18 (). 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.

  1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000nrn9
  2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241114_0000022
  3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
  4. Google Maps: Static API
  5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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