M4.5 earthquake 35 km ESE of Jiufen, Taiwan
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 35 km ESE of Jiufen, Taiwan on Thu, May 14, 1981, 5:27 PM GMT+8 (09:27 UTC), 5 km (3 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.6 28 km SSE of Jiufen, Taiwan. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.5 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-05-14 09:27:32 UTC
- Depth
- 5.0 km (3.1 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 24.938° N, 122.146° 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.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.628 km SSE of Jiufen, Taiwan · 16536 days ago · 26 km deep · 15 km away
- 4.056 km WNW of Yonakuni, Japan · 16532 days ago · 113 km deep · 45 km away
- 3.841 km E of Yilan, Taiwan · 16528 days ago · 88 km deep · 13 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTaiwan earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001dnx. Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 9:47 AM UTC.