In the Philippine Sea 97 kilometer from Hualien City, Taiwan, a shallow and significant Magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurred in the early afternoon of Thursday March 13th, 2025.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Philippine Sea, right off the coast of Taiwan (8 mi offshore), 97 kilometer south of Hualien City in Hualien County. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 27 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Mar 13, 2025 13:09 (Taipei Time) - Mar 13, 2025 05:09 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 97 km south of Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan. Coordinates 23°6'51"N 121°29'31"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.2 Detected by 9 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.103 . |
| Depth: | 27 km (17 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 may have been felt in Taiwan . Hualien City in Hualien County, Taiwan is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 97 kilometer (60 mi) south of Hualien City.
Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Taipei is located 215 km to the north. Kaohsiung is located 133 km to the west-southwest. Taichung is located 141 km to the northwest.
An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 97 km (60 mi) N from epicenter |
Hualien City Hualien County, Taiwan. |
| 103 km (64 mi) NW from epicenter |
Lugu Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 105 km (65 mi) W from epicenter |
Yujing Tainan City, Taiwan. |
| 109 km (68 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Puli Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 117 km (73 mi) NW from epicenter |
Douliu Yunlin County, Taiwan. |
| 123 km (76 mi) NW from epicenter |
Nantou Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 125 km (78 mi) NW from epicenter |
Zhongxing New Village Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 129 km (80 mi) SW from epicenter |
Donggang Pingtung County, Taiwan. |
| 132 km (82 mi) W from epicenter |
Tainan Tainan City, Taiwan. |
| 132 km (82 mi) NW from epicenter |
Yuanlin Changhua County, Taiwan. |
| 133 km (83 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, Taiwan. |
| 141 km (88 mi) NW from epicenter |
Taichung Taichung City, Taiwan. |
| 145 km (90 mi) SSW from epicenter |
Hengchun Pingtung County, Taiwan. |
| 185 km (115 mi) N from epicenter |
Yilan Yilan County, Taiwan. |
| 195 km (121 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Hsinchu Hsinchu County, Taiwan. |
| 198 km (123 mi) N from epicenter |
Daxi Taoyuan City , Taiwan. |
| 201 km (125 mi) WNW from epicenter |
Magong Penghu County , Taiwan. |
| 210 km (130 mi) N from epicenter |
Taoyuan City Taoyuan City , Taiwan. |
| 211 km (131 mi) N from epicenter |
Banqiao New Taipei City, Taiwan. |
| 215 km (134 mi) N from epicenter |
Taipei Taipei City, Taiwan. |
| 225 km (140 mi) N from epicenter |
Keelung Keelung, Taiwan. |
Shaking reported by 10 people
People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 10 people have reported shaking in 8 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:
- Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung Shih, Taiwan: 2 people.
- Taichung, Taichung Shih, Taiwan: 2 people.
- Yuli, Hualien, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Tainan, Tainan Shih, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Sanchung, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Yungho, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Taitung, Taitung, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Taoyuan, Taoyuan, Taiwan: 1 person.
Aftershocks detected
Since this main shock, 1 smaller aftershock was detected. At a distance of 48 km (30 mi) west-southwest of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 17 hrs later. It measured a magnitude of 4
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.2 |
Mar 13, 2025 13:09 (Taipei Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 4.0 |
17 hrs later Mar 14, 2025 05:44 (Taipei Time) | 48 km (30 mi) WSW from Main Shock. |
More earthquakes coming?
The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.
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 January 20th, 2025, when a 6 magnitude earthquake hit 97 km (60 mi) further west. An even stronger magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck on April 2nd, 2024.
In total, 105 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 27 km (17 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 14/03/25 10:28 (). 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.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000pyi3
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250313_0000039
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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