M6.3 earthquake 59 km NE of Hengchun, Taiwan
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 59 km NE of Hengchun, Taiwan on Sat, Sep 23, 1972, 3:57 AM GMT+8 (19:57 UTC), 17 km (11 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 6.3 (Mw, moment), strong
- Magnitude from
- ISC-GEM global catalog
- Local time
- UTC
- 1972-09-22 19:57:27 UTC
- Depth
- 17.2 km (10.7 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 22.428° N, 121.100° E
- Region
- Taiwan
- Strongest shaking
- VI, strong shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- VI, strong shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 12.7% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 2.1 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.20
- Depth from
- From location
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 3.3 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.851 km NE of Hengchun, Taiwan · 19733 days ago · 27 km deep · 11 km away
- 5.463 km NE of Hengchun, Taiwan · 19732 days ago · 2 km deep · 4 km away
- 5.854 km ENE of Hengchun, Taiwan · 19729 days ago · 15 km deep · 25 km away
- 5.555 km NE of Hengchun, Taiwan · 19705 days ago · 13 km deep · 7 km away
- 5.340 km NE of Donggang, Taiwan · 19688 days ago · 54 km deep · 58 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgem769766 (also filed as atlas19720922195726). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 9:30 AM UTC.