M4.5 earthquake 36 km E of Yilan, Taiwan
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 36 km E of Yilan, Taiwan on Fri, Dec 18, 1981, 7:12 PM GMT+8 (11:12 UTC), 111 km (69 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.6 55 km ENE of Hualien City, 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, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-12-18 11:12:16 UTC
- Depth
- 111.2 km (69.1 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 24.806° N, 122.106° 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.
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.539 km NNW of Yonakuni, Japan · 16354 days ago · 128 km deep · 79 km away
- 4.655 km ENE of Hualien City, Taiwan · 16342 days ago · 56 km deep · 74 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTaiwan earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001hfs. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 2:33 PM UTC.