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Strong mag. 5.9 earthquake - Philippine Sea, 31 km southeast of Hualien City, Taiwan, on Thursday, Dec 15, 2022 at 12:03 pm (GMT +8) -

Strong mag. 5.9 earthquake - Philippine Sea, 31 km southeast of Hualien City, Taiwan, on Thursday, Dec 15, 2022 at 12:03 pm (GMT +8) Strong mag. 5.9 earthquake - Philippine Sea, 31 km southeast of Hualien City, Taiwan, on Thursday, Dec 15, 2022 at 12:03 pm (GMT +8)

Strong magnitude 5.9 earthquake at 13 km depth

15 Dec 04:08 UTC: First to report: VolcanoDiscovery after 5 minutes.
15 Dec 04:10: Now using data updates from GFZ
... [show all] ...
21 Dec 02:46: Epicenter location corrected by 1.6 km (1 mi) towards ESE.
Update Thu, 15 Dec 2022, 04:18

Significant magnitude 5.9 quake hits 26 km southeast of Hualien City, Taiwan around noon

5.9 quake 15 Dec 12:03 pm (GMT +8)
5.9 quake 15 Dec 12:03 pm (GMT +8)
Taiwan was shaken near Hualien City, Hualien, Taiwan, by an earthquake of magnitude 5.9 only 15 minutes ago, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) reported.
The quake hit at a shallow depth of 10 km beneath the epicenter near Hualien City, Hualien, Taiwan, around noon on Thursday, December 15th, 2022, at 12:03 pm local time. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
A second report was later issued by France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS), which listed it as a magnitude 5.9 earthquake as well. Other agencies reporting the same quake include the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 5.9, and the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 6.0.
Generally quakes of this magnitude are recorded by more than one agency and the results can vary, with subsequent reports that come in after the first one often showing more accuracy.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been widely felt by almost everyone in the area of the epicenter. It might have caused light to moderate damage.
Moderate shaking probably occurred in Hualien City (pop. 350,500) located 26 km from the epicenter.
In Puli (pop. 86,400) located 82 km from the epicenter, Yilan (pop. 94,200) 109 km away, Nantou City (pop. 105,700) 112 km away, Taichung (pop. 1,040,700) 116 km away, Yuanlin (pop. 124,700) 121 km away, and Douliu (pop. 104,700) 123 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Taitung City (pop. 109,600) located 129 km from the epicenter, and Taipei (pop. 7,871,900) 143 km away.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you're in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.

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Earthquake details

Date & timeDec 15, 2022 04:03:15 UTC -
Local time at epicenterThursday, Dec 15, 2022 at 12:03 pm (GMT +8)
StatusConfirmed
Magnitude5.9
Depth13.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude23.7713°N / 121.8078°E (Philippine Sea, Taiwan)
Antipode23.771°S / 58.192°W
Shaking intensityLight shaking
Felt31 reports
Primary data sourceUSGS (United States Geological Survey)
Nearest volcanoUnnamed 24.00°N/121.83°E (26 km / 16 mi)
Nearby towns and cities31 km (19 mi) SE of Hualien City (pop: 350,500) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
88 km (55 mi) ESE of Puli (pop: 86,400) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
110 km (68 mi) S of Yilan (pop: 94,200) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
117 km (73 mi) E of Nantou City (pop: 105,700) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
122 km (76 mi) ESE of Taichung (pop: 1,040,700) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
127 km (79 mi) E of Yuanlin (pop: 124,700) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
145 km (90 mi) SSE of Taipei (pop: 7,871,900) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
200 km (124 mi) NE of Kaohsiung City (pop: 1,519,700) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
325 km (202 mi) SE of Matsu Island (pop: 4,000) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
356 km (221 mi) E of Kinmen Island (pop: 127,700) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
Weather at epicenter at time of quakeOvercast Clouds 21.7°C (71 F), humidity: 75%, wind: 6 m/s (11 kts) from N
Estimated seismic energy released4.5 x 1013 joules (12.4 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 10676 tons of TNT or 0.7 atomic bombs!) | about seismic energy
Show interactive Map
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Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies

Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
Mag.DepthLocationSource
5.913 kmTaiwanUSGS
5.910 kmTAIWANEMSC
5.913 kmTaiwanRaspberryShake
5.810 kmTaiwan: Near TaipeiRENASS
6.010.2 kmTaiwan [Sea]INGV
5.910 kmTaiwanGFZ
5.910 kmTaiwanIRIS
5.810 kmTaiwanGeoAu

User reports for this quake (31)

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
Contribute:
Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it.
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Taichung (130.5 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : updown vibrate then left right vibrate, light fixture swing left and right. | 7 users found this interesting.  
Chenggong (96.9 km SSW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : Couple of shaking waves keep getting stronger | 6 users found this interesting.  
New Taipei / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s : Upper floor of a building, felt the building swinging, hanging lights all swinging | 5 users found this interesting.  
Taipei (141.5 km NNW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Bed and building shaking briefly - maybe 30 sec to a minute | 4 users found this interesting.  
Tainan City (184 km WSW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : Felt from the 7th floor of a building. Creaking heard, objects shook but nothing was displaced. | 4 users found this interesting.  
Taiwan, New Taipei (147.2 km NNW of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / complex rolling (tilting in multiple directions) / 15-20 s : Huge | 4 users found this interesting.  
near Taichung (122.4 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Woke me up from sleeping | 3 users found this interesting.  
taipei (144.4 km N of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : sitting on the couch | 3 users found this interesting.  
alishan (106.2 km WSW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Light shaking | 2 users found this interesting.  
Yongkang dist. Tainan city (176.2 km WSW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s : Im lying in my double deck bed in the 5th floor of our building | 2 users found this interesting.  
Taoyuan (150.7 km NNW of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex rolling (tilting in multiple directions) / 30-60 s : Yes | 2 users found this interesting.  
Taichong / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s : First sign of something amiss was hearing cracking in the ceiling along the corner edges. Then visible and felt swaying of building to include the floor. | One user found this interesting.  
Gongguan, Taipei / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : I was on third floor of a school building, when I felt the bench shaking for several seconds. Also the hanging screen in the classroom would shake. | One user found this interesting.  
Guangfu Sugar Factory, Japanese style wooden house / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : It was my first time feeling it and I thought something was attacking the house. My whole body went hot and I was shivering. The doors and windows were creaking. My dad was drinking wine and the cups almost slid off the table | One user found this interesting.  
Tainan, Taiwan / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : only weak shaking, so its ok. but I can hear building cracking sound. | 2 users found this interesting.  
Bali Taipeh (159.4 km NNW of epicenter) [Map] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s
NTNU Taipei (126.7 km NNW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / very short
Taichung (126.9 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III)
Hsinchu (143.5 km NW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s
27 km of Douliu, Taiwan (139.4 km WSW of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 20-30 s
Magong, Penghu County, Taiwan (217.9 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s
Tucheng Village, Nantou County, Taiwan (111.2 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s
Huwei (140.8 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s
kaohsiung / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s
Shinhua / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s
Kaohsiung City / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s
Taoyuan / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s
New Taipei city / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / single lateral shake / 10-15 s (reported through our app)
Taoyuan / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s
New taipei / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s
Yunlin County / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s
Show more

Aftershocks

[More info]

Recorded aftershocks, latest first (5 quakes)

Date and timeMag
Depth
LocationDetails
Feb 11, 2023 11:35
7 weeks ago - felt
4.7

35 km
Philippine Sea, 64 km S of Hualien City, TaiwanMore
Feb 8, 2023 10:49
7 weeks ago - felt
4.8

31 km
Philippine Sea, 67 km S of Hualien City, TaiwanMore
Jan 20, 2023 02:56
10 weeks ago
4.3

19 km
12 km NW of Hualien City, TaiwanMore
Jan 7, 2023 11:21
12 weeks ago
4.2

27 km
56 km S of Hualien City, TaiwanMore
Dec 15, 2022 04:05
15 weeks ago - felt
4.6

19 km
Philippine Sea, 24 km SE of Hualien City, TaiwanMore

Earlier earthquakes in the same area

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