M4.2 earthquake 18 km E of Yilan, Taiwan
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 18 km E of Yilan, Taiwan on Wed, Apr 12, 1978, 3:16 AM GMT+8 (19:16 UTC), 78 km (48 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.8 35 km NW of Yonakuni, Japan. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.2 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-04-11 19:16:13 UTC
- Depth
- 78.0 km (48.5 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 24.746° N, 121.931° E
- Region
- Taiwan
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Stations used
- 28
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.835 km NW of Yonakuni, Japan · 17688 days ago · 18 km deep · 80 km away
- 4.643 km WNW of Yonakuni, Japan · 17682 days ago · 37 km deep · 72 km away
- 4.211 km ENE of Jiufen, Taiwan · 17681 days ago · 181 km deep · 46 km away
- 4.122 km WNW of Yonakuni, Japan · 17675 days ago · 102 km deep · 91 km away
- 4.921 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan · 17661 days ago · 33 km deep · 87 km away
- 5.048 km SSE of Yilan, Taiwan · 17657 days ago · 2 km deep · 41 km away
- 4.033 km SSE of Yilan, Taiwan · 17655 days ago · 33 km deep · 29 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTaiwan earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000u1f. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 1:53 AM UTC.