March 16, 1906 Earthquake: Jiayi, Taiwan
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Jiayi, Taiwan on March 16, 1906 at 22:42:40 UTC. It killed 1,258 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 16, 1906
- Time
- 22:42:40 UTC
- Place
- Jiayi, Taiwan
- Magnitude
- 6.8 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 23.600° N, 120.500° E
- Country
- Taiwan
The toll
- Deaths
- 1,258
- Injuries
- 145
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 6,769
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.
March 17, 1906, 06:42 local time, Jiayi, Taiwan Province, 23.6 N, 120.5 E, magnitude 6.75. 6769 houses totally, and 3633 partly collapsed. Almost all the city was destroyed. A large fault, 13km long, occurred from Meizikeng to Damao with a greatest width of about 240 cm and a greatest downthrow of 180 cm. The ground split with ejection of sand in west and north of Damo. 1258 people were killed and 145 seriously injured. (reference #3939)
March 16, 1906, 22:42:40 UTC, 24 N, 121 E, shallow depth, magnitude 7.1. (reference #88)
March 16, 1906, in Kagi, magnitude 7.1, 1258 deaths. (reference #1002)
March 16, 1906, magnitude 7.1, in Kagi, 1300 deaths. Strike-slip displacement reaching 2.5 m, vertical displacement half as much. (reference #1003)
March 16, 1906, Chiayi, magnitude 6.8, intensity X, 1300 or 1258 deaths. (reference #1173)
March 16, 1906, Kagi, 1266 or 6000 deaths. (reference #1250)
March 17, 1906, that caused 1 m subsidence and upheaval for 25.5 km. (reference #1097)
Meishan, Taiwan awoke to the ground violently shaking underfoot. When the dust settled, 1,258 people were dead and another 2,385 were injured, and 6,769 houses around the village had been knocked to the ground. Geologists later rated the earthquake as a magnitude 7.1, and a century later it's still one of the deadliest earthquakes in the country's very seismically eventful history. (reference# 12113)
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
- June 6, 1862, Tainan, Taiwan
- 1721, Tainan, Taiwan
- December 3, 1848, Zhanghua, Taiwan
- February 1845, Zhanghua, Taiwan
- December 16, 1941, Taiwan
- January 30, 1736, Tainan, 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 1906The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1906Recent 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 2762.