January 4, 1917 Earthquake: Puli, Taiwan
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Puli, Taiwan on January 4, 1917 at 16:50:06 UTC. It killed 54 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
- January 4, 1917
- Time
- 16:50:06 UTC
- Place
- Puli, Taiwan
- Magnitude
- 6.3 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 23.900° N, 120.900° E
- Country
- Taiwan
The toll
- Deaths
- 54
- Injuries
- 85
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 130
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.
January 5, 1917, 00:50:06 local time, Puli, Taiwan Province, 23.9 N, 120.9 E, magnitude 6.25. 130 houses completely collapsed, 230 half collapsed, and 395 were damaged, 54 people were killed and
85 wounded. The quake was felt in the whole island (except at the southern end). (reference #3939)
January 5, 1917, Horisya, 50 deaths, 130 houses destroyed. (reference #1068)
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
- March 16, 1906, Jiayi, Taiwan
- December 3, 1848, Zhanghua, Taiwan
- December 18, 1867, Chilung (Keelung), 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
More
Significant earthquakes of 1917The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1917Recent 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 3069.