September 25, 1881 Earthquake: Taiwan
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Taiwan on September 25, 1881.
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
- September 25, 1881
- Place
- Taiwan
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 25.000° N, 121.500° E
- Country
- Taiwan
The toll
- Deaths
- Few (about 1 to 50); Some (about 51 to 100) with its tsunami and other effects
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.
September 25, 1881, Taibei, Taiwan Province, 25 N, 121.5 E, magnitude 5.5, intensity VII. Many houses collapsed at Mengjia and Daduxla, killing several people. The quake also struck Xinzhu, Yunlin, Miaoli and Tainan in Taiwan Province, and Xiamen in Fujian Province. (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 1881The 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 8103.