In the evening of Thursday March 12th, 2026, a shallow and significant MAG-5.2 earthquake hit in the Philippine Sea 26 kilometer from Hualien City, Taiwan. Another nearby country is Japan.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Philippine Sea, right off the coast of Taiwan (1 mi offshore), 26 kilometer south of Hualien City in Hualien County. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 20 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Mar 12, 2026 20:14 (Taipei Time) - Mar 12, 2026 12:14 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 26 km south of Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan. Coordinates 23°44'41"N 121°33'59"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.2 Detected by 30 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.057 . |
| Depth: | 20 km (13 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
Taiwan and Japan are both located within 300km distance of the epicenter of the earthquake.
Hualien City in Hualien County, Taiwan is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 26 kilometer (16 mi) south of Hualien City.
Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Taipei is located 145 km to the north. Hualien City is located 26 km to the north. Taichung is located 100 km to the northwest.
A complete list of nearby places is included below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 26 km (16 mi) N from epicenter |
Hualien City Hualien County, Taiwan. |
| 66 km (41 mi) W from epicenter |
Puli Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 83 km (52 mi) W from epicenter |
Lugu Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 93 km (58 mi) W from epicenter |
Zhongxing New Village Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 94 km (58 mi) W from epicenter |
Nantou Nantou County, Taiwan. |
| 100 km (62 mi) NW from epicenter |
Taichung Taichung City, Taiwan. |
| 103 km (64 mi) W from epicenter |
Yuanlin Changhua County, Taiwan. |
| 104 km (65 mi) W from epicenter |
Douliu Yunlin County, Taiwan. |
| 114 km (71 mi) N from epicenter |
Yilan Yilan County, Taiwan. |
| 130 km (81 mi) N from epicenter |
Daxi Taoyuan City , Taiwan. |
| 132 km (82 mi) SW from epicenter |
Yujing Tainan City, Taiwan. |
| 132 km (82 mi) NW from epicenter |
Hsinchu Hsinchu County, Taiwan. |
| 142 km (88 mi) N from epicenter |
Banqiao New Taipei City, Taiwan. |
| 142 km (88 mi) N from epicenter |
Taoyuan City Taoyuan City , Taiwan. |
| 145 km (90 mi) N from epicenter |
Taipei Taipei City, Taiwan. |
| 155 km (96 mi) N from epicenter |
Keelung Keelung, Taiwan. |
| 162 km (101 mi) SW from epicenter |
Tainan Tainan City, Taiwan. |
| 179 km (111 mi) SW from epicenter |
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, Taiwan. |
| 182 km (113 mi) SW from epicenter |
Donggang Pingtung County, Taiwan. |
| 203 km (126 mi) W from epicenter |
Magong Penghu County , Taiwan. |
| 211 km (131 mi) SW from epicenter |
Hengchun Pingtung County, Taiwan. |
| 271 km (168 mi) E from epicenter |
Ishigaki Okinawa, Japan. |
Shaking reported by 21 people
People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 21 people have reported shaking in 13 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:
- Yungho, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 6 people.
- Hualian, Hualien, Taiwan: 3 people.
- Taichung, Taichung Shih, Taiwan: 2 people.
- Homei, Changhwa, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Kuanshan, Taitung, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Puli, Nantou, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Chupei, Hsinchu Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Chushan, Nantou, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Huwei, Yunlin, Taiwan: 1 person.
- Taipei, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
2 Aftershocks detected
This main shock was followed by 2 smaller aftershocks. At a distance of 81 km (50 mi) north-east of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 3 days later. It measured a magnitude of 4.8
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.2 |
Mar 12, 2026 20:14 (Taipei Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 4.2 |
2 days later Mar 15, 2026 02:58 (Taipei Time) | 76 km (47 mi) N from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 4.8 |
3 days later Mar 15, 2026 16:14 (Taipei Time) | 81 km (50 mi) NE 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.
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.
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 December 27th, 2025, when a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit 115 km (71 mi) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck on April 2nd, 2024.
In total, 98 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 20 km (13 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 31/03/26 14:48 (). 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 us6000sftk
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260312_0000169
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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