October 13, 1815 Earthquake: Taiwan
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Taiwan on October 13, 1815. It killed 111 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
- October 13, 1815
- Place
- Taiwan
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 25.200° N, 121.200° E
- Country
- Taiwan
The toll
- Deaths
- 111
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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.
October 13, 1815, Near Danshui, Taiwan Province,
25.2 N, 121.2 E, magnitude 6.5, intensity VIII.
13 rooms in civilian houses collapsed and 8 persons
were killed in the city and in Zhuqian. The earthquake destroyed 112 rooms in Taojian and other places. Warehouses, barracks, camps and storehouses of military uniforms also suffered damage. The Huwei naval battery was wrecked, with over 330 meters of walls collapsed, 85 people were killed.
Yilan: Government offices, prisons, storehouses and
temples were slightly damaged. 12 rooms of shops
and a number of walls collapsed. 1 person was
injured.
Zhanghua: In the county town and Lugang, Nantou,
32 rooms in civilian houses and some buildings
in the military training centre and storehouses
collapsed. 2 persons were killed and 1 person was
injured.
Jiayi: Some wall, of office buildings and civilian
houses were tilted. Over 100-m long earth city walls and more than 700 battlements collapsed. 3 shops were devastated, killing 2 persons.
Yunlin (Douliu): 71 civilian houses fell in, 16
people were killed.
Miaoli: Civilian houses were wrecked.
Fuding: Some civilian houses toppled down.
The earthquake also struck Tainan, Gaoxiong and Penghu in Taiwan Province; Fuzhou and inland cities in Fujian Province; Oixi, Jinhua, Yueqing (and Jiande in Zhejiang Province.
(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 22, 1951, Taiwan
- April 12, 1910, Taiwan
- March 19, 1897, Yilan, Taiwan
- January 4, 1917, Puli, Taiwan
- March 18, 1811, Off West Coast, Danshui, Taiwan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1815The 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 1618.