On Sunday Night a Shallow M5.2 Earthquake struck in the Philippine Sea near Hualien City (Taiwan).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 4th, 2026. Last updated April 8th, 2026.

In the night of Sunday April 5th, 2026, a shallow and significant MAG-5.2 earthquake hit in the Philippine Sea 5 kilometer from Hualien City, Taiwan. Around 24 million people have been exposed to shaking. Other nearby countries are Japan and China.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Philippine Sea, right off the coast of Taiwan (2 mi offshore), 5 kilometer north-east of Hualien City in Hualien County. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 30 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Apr 5, 2026 01:14 (Taipei Time) - Apr 4, 2026 17:14 Universal Time.
Location:	5 km NE of Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan. Coordinates 24°0'9"N 121°38'33"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.2 Detected by 20 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.069 .
Depth:	30 km (18 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 90% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 90% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact.

Roughly 24 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 24 million people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is VI, which corresponds with strong shaking and probably light damage. Roughly 41,440 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 19 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected.

People in 3 countries have been exposed to shaking. In Taiwan , around 23 million people, with impact levels up to VI (strong shaking, probably light damage). In China and Japan, a smaller number of people were exposed.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
242,500	II	Very weak	None
18,940,000	III	Weak	Probably none
4,299,000	IV	Light	Likely none
183,400	V	Moderate	Very light
41,440	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

Taiwan , Japan and China are all 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 5 kilometer (3 mi) north-east of Hualien City. Hualien City experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly VI. That level implies strong shaking and probably light damage.

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Hualien City is located 5 km to the southwest and experienced an intensity of VI (strong shaking, probably light damage). Taipei is located 117 km to the north and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Taichung is located 99 km to the west and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
5 km (3 mi) SW from epicenter	Hualien City Hualien County, Taiwan.	VI Strong
68 km (42 mi) W from epicenter	Puli Nantou County, Taiwan.	IV Light
85 km (53 mi) N from epicenter	Yilan Yilan County, Taiwan.	IV Light
95 km (59 mi) W from epicenter	Lugu Nantou County, Taiwan.	III Weak
97 km (60 mi) W from epicenter	Zhongxing New Village Nantou County, Taiwan.	III Weak
99 km (62 mi) W from epicenter	Taichung Taichung City, Taiwan.	III Weak
100 km (62 mi) W from epicenter	Nantou Nantou County, Taiwan.	III Weak
104 km (65 mi) N from epicenter	Daxi Taoyuan City , Taiwan.	III Weak
108 km (67 mi) W from epicenter	Yuanlin Changhua County, Taiwan.	IV Light
112 km (70 mi) NW from epicenter	Hsinchu Hsinchu County, Taiwan.	III Weak
114 km (71 mi) N from epicenter	Banqiao New Taipei City, Taiwan.	IV Light
116 km (72 mi) N from epicenter	Taoyuan City Taoyuan City , Taiwan.	III Weak
116 km (72 mi) W from epicenter	Douliu Yunlin County, Taiwan.	IV Light
117 km (73 mi) N from epicenter	Taipei Taipei City, Taiwan.	IV Light
126 km (78 mi) N from epicenter	Keelung Keelung, Taiwan.	III Weak
155 km (96 mi) SW from epicenter	Yujing Tainan City, Taiwan.	III Weak
184 km (114 mi) SW from epicenter	Tainan Tainan City, Taiwan.	III Weak
205 km (127 mi) SW from epicenter	Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, Taiwan.	III Weak
210 km (130 mi) SW from epicenter	Donggang Pingtung County, Taiwan.	III Weak
215 km (134 mi) W from epicenter	Magong Penghu County , Taiwan.
240 km (149 mi) S from epicenter	Hengchun Pingtung County, Taiwan.
258 km (160 mi) E from epicenter	Ishigaki Okinawa, Japan.
297 km (185 mi) NW from epicenter	Jiangkou Fujian, China.
299 km (186 mi) NW from epicenter	Fuqing Fujian, China.

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

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 37 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 37 people have reported shaking in 14 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: 17 people.
Hualian, Hualien, Taiwan: 3 people.
Sanchung, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 3 people.
Taichung, Taichung Shih, Taiwan: 3 people.
Lotung, Ilan, Taiwan: 2 people.
Hsinchuang, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
Chupei, Hsinchu Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
Taipei, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
Potzu, Chiayi Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.
Shulin, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan: 1 person.

Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 1 smaller aftershock. At a distance of 6 km (4 mi) northwest of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 4 hrs later. It measured a magnitude of 4.4

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 5.2	Apr 5, 2026 01:14 (Taipei Time)	-
Aftershock	M 4.4	4 hrs later Apr 5, 2026 05:23 (Taipei Time)	6 km (4 mi) NW 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 86 km (53 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

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 5.2. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 30 km (18 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 08/04/26 16:38 (). 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.