January 30, 1736 Earthquake: Tainan, Taiwan
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Tainan, Taiwan on January 30, 1736. It killed 260 people.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- January 30, 1736
- Place
- Tainan, Taiwan
- Magnitude
- 6 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 23.100° N, 120.300° E
- Country
- Taiwan
The toll
- Deaths
- 260
- Injuries
- 100
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 500
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
January 30, 1736, Between Jiayi and Tainan, Taiwan Province,
23.1 N, 120.3 E, magnitude 6, intensity VIII. In and around Shanhua and Xinhua, more than 500 rooms of houses collapsed, and more than 200 were titled. More than 260 people were killed, and more than 100 injured. The shock also struck Gaoxiong and Zhanghua. (reference #3939)
January 30, 1736, Taiwan Province, 23.1 N, 120.3 E, magnitude 6, intensity VIII. (reference #1052)
January 27, 1736, Formosa, Tainan, Kagi, Shoka, intensity III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed towns and devastated districts. (reference #1055)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 22, 1782, Tainan, Taiwan
- April 20, 1935, Mialoi, Taiwan
- July 16, 1935, Xiinzhu, Taiwan
- September 20, 1999, Nantou, Taichung, Taizhong, Taiwan
- 1721, Tainan, Taiwan
- June 6, 1862, Tainan, Taiwan
- March 16, 1906, Jiayi, Taiwan
- December 3, 1848, Zhanghua, Taiwan
- February 1845, Zhanghua, Taiwan
- December 16, 1941, Taiwan
- August 9, 1792, Jiayi, Tainan, Taiwan
- August 28, 1916, Taiwan
- November 5, 1904, Jiayi, Taiwan
- June 27, 1839, Jiayi, Taiwan
- February 5, 2016, Tainan, Taiwan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1736The 1700sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 1265.