March 18, 1811 Earthquake: Off West Coast, Danshui, Taiwan
A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Off West Coast, Danshui, Taiwan on March 18, 1811. It killed 21 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
- March 18, 1811
- Place
- Off West Coast, Danshui, Taiwan
- Magnitude
- 7 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 25.200° N, 121.300° E
- Country
- Taiwan
The toll
- Deaths
- 21
- Injuries
- 21
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
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.
Danshui: The southern gate tower, 6 warehouses, 8,
barracks buildings and a military training hall were
destroyed. 17 rooms in civilian tile-roofed houses
and 2 rooms in thatched cottages collapsed. 14 people were killed and 5 injured.
Zhanghua: In town and villages 9 rooms in civilian
tile-roofed houses and thatched cottages, and 1 mud
wall collapsed. 4 persons were killed and 6 injured.
Jiayi: 49 battlements on the city walls, 1 room in
military uniform storehouse, 11 rooms in civilian
tile-roofed houses and thatched cottages were destroyed.
3 persons were killed and 5 injured.
The earthquake also struck Yilan, Tainan and Gaoxiong
in Taiwan Province; Yongding, Putian in
Fujian Province; Huangyan, Jiande, Wenzhou,
and Yueqing in Zhejiang Province.
Note: The epicenter was possibly in the west off toe
coast of Danshui, the epicentral intensity was.
uncertain.
(above from reference #3939)
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
- March 16, 1906, Jiayi, Taiwan
- December 3, 1848, Zhanghua, Taiwan
- December 18, 1867, Chilung (Keelung), Taiwan
- February 1845, Zhanghua, Taiwan
- August 9, 1792, Jiayi, Tainan, Taiwan
- August 28, 1916, Taiwan
- October 13, 1815, Taiwan
- October 22, 1951, Taiwan
- April 12, 1910, Taiwan
- March 19, 1897, Yilan, Taiwan
- January 4, 1917, Puli, Taiwan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1811The 1800sRecent 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 1590.