Strong M6.6 Earthquake struck on Saturday Evening in the Philippine Sea near Taipei (Taiwan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 27th, 2025. Last updated January 27th, 2026.

In the evening of Saturday December 27th, 2025, a strong Magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit in the Philippine Sea 66 kilometer from Taipei, Taiwan. The earthquake struck near a very densely populated region. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Other nearby countries are Japan and China.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Philippine Sea, 24 kilometers (15 mi) off the coast of Taiwan, 66 kilometer south-east of Taipei in Taipei City. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 63 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Dec 27, 2025 23:05 (Taipei Time) - Dec 27, 2025 15:05 Universal Time.
Location:	66 km SE of Taipei, Taipei City, Taiwan. Coordinates 24°41'15"N 122°2'52"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.6 Detected by 3 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.033 .
Depth:	63 km (39 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential tsunami risk The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Potential tsunami risk

There is a potential tsunami risk in the aftermath of this earthquake, immediately evacuate to higher grounds away from coastal areas and monitor advice from local authorities. The US Geographic Survey organization has indicated a potential risk for tsunami's following this earthquake.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Minimal impact predicted

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

One person killed, 1 building and 1 road damaged at New Taipei; at least 9 buildings damaged at Taipei.

Based on scientific estimates by the USGS, the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 20 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 20 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is VI, which corresponds with strong shaking and probably light damage. Roughly 330,400 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level IV was experienced by the majority of people (around 11 million). In their region, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected.

People in 3 countries have been exposed to shaking. Roughly 20 million people were exposed to shaking in Taiwan , with level VI (strong shaking, probably light damage) as the highest recorded. A smaller number of people were exposed in the following countries: Japan and China.

Nearby towns and cities

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

Yilan in Yilan County, Taiwan is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 31 kilometer (19 mi) east-southeast of Yilan. The intensity of shaking and damage in Yilan is estimated to be around level VI on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (strong shaking, probably light damage).

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Taipei is located 66 km to the northwest and experienced an intensity of V (moderate shaking, very light damage). Fuzhou is located 315 km to the west-northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Xiamen is located 402 km to the west (intensity unknown, possibly low).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is VI.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 424 people in 4 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 424 people have reported shaking in 68 places in 4 countries (Taiwan, China, Japan, Philippines).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Yungho, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 141 people.
• Sanchung, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 23 people.
• Taichung, Taichung Shih, Taiwan: 19 people.
• Taoyuan, Taoyuan, Taiwan: 14 people.
• Tainan, Tainan Shih, Taiwan: 14 people.
• Hsichih, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 14 people.
• Luchou, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 13 people.
• Hsintien, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 12 people.
• Tanshui, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 11 people.
• Hsinchu, Hsinchu Shih, Taiwan: 10 people.

Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 1 smaller aftershock occurred. A 4.3 magnitude earthquake hit 2 hrs later 11 km (7 mi) south of this earthquake.

In the days before this main shock, 1 smaller foreshock was detected. A 4.5 magnitude earthquake hit 3 hrs earlier nearby.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

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.

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.

Earthquakes like this are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since April 2nd, 2024, when a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit 105 km (65 mi) further south-southwest. That was also the heaviest earthquake to hit the region in the past 10 years.

In total, 3 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.6 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 3 years.

Sources

Last updated 27/01/26 01:28 (). 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.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000rl2n
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251227_0000221
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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