November 21, 1909 Earthquake: Taiwan
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Taiwan on November 21, 1909 at 07:36 UTC. It killed 4 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
- November 21, 1909
- Time
- 07:36 UTC
- Place
- Taiwan
- Magnitude
- 7.3 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 24.400° N, 121.800° E
- Country
- Taiwan
The toll
- Deaths
- 4
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 14
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.
November 21, 1909, 15:36 local time, Nan'ao, Taiwan Province, 24.4 N, 121.8 E, magnitude 7.3.
In the Taibei Prefecture and the northern part
of Hualian Harbour, 4 persons were killed, 14
houses were devastated, 25 partly destroyed, and
14 damaged. The shock was felt over the whole
island except at the southern end.
(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
- December 16, 1941, Taiwan
- August 9, 1792, Jiayi, Tainan, Taiwan
- August 28, 1916, Taiwan
- November 5, 1904, Jiayi, Taiwan
- June 27, 1839, Jiayi, Taiwan
- October 13, 1815, Taiwan
- January 18, 1964, Tainan, Taiwan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1909The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1909Recent 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 7993.