Reviewed by USGSTaiwan120y ago
M7.2 earthquake 108 km E of Hengchun, Taiwan
Saturday, January 11, 1908, 03:34:36 UTC · 22.074°N, 121.788°E
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 108 km E of Hengchun, Taiwan on Saturday, January 11, 1908, 03:34:36 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.2
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
1.0 megatons of TNT
That is about 68 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2,138 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
141 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Philippine Sea and Yangtze plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
15 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 5 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.012 km N of Pizitou, TaiwanApril 13, 1906 · 217 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.910 km NE of Pizitou, TaiwanMarch 16, 1906 · 211 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.519 km SSE of Douliu, TaiwanApril 13, 1906 · 203 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.250 km WSW of Hengchun, TaiwanSeptember 22, 1907 · 157 km W of this epicenter
- 6.197 km ENE of Hengchun, TaiwanMarch 26, 1906 · 37 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 20 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 47,506 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1782
Tainan
22 May 1782 · 300 km away
40,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1721
Tainan
1721 · 193 km away
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1862M6.5
Tainan
6 Jun 1862 · 235 km away · intensity VIII
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1906M6.8
Jiayi
16 Mar 1906 · 215 km away
1,258 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1848M6.8
Zhanghua
3 Dec 1848 · 261 km away · intensity IX
1,001 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1845M6.0
Zhanghua
Feb 1845 · 261 km away · intensity VIII
380 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.