June 5, 1920 Earthquake: Taiwan
A magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck Taiwan on June 5, 1920 at 04:21:35 UTC, 20 km below the surface. It killed 5 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
- June 5, 1920
- Time
- 04:21:35 UTC
- Place
- Taiwan
- Magnitude
- 8.2 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 20 km (12 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 23.688° N, 121.954° E
- Country
- Taiwan
The toll
- Deaths
- 5
- Injuries
- 20
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 273
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.
June 5, 1920, 12:21:28 local time, Off the east coast of Dagangkou, Taiwan Province, 23.5 N, 122.7 E, magnitude 8. North of Taizhong, 5 persons were killed, 20 injured, houses of 273 families completely collapsed, 277 partly collapsed and 980 damaged. The shock was felt over the whole island. There were many aftershocks, 38 sensible aftershocks were observed in the Hualian Port by the mid-June. (reference #3939)
1920-06-05 04:21:35 (UTC), 23.688°N 121.954°E, 20.0 km depth, 8.2 Mw (reference #13456)
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
- 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
- February 5, 2016, Tainan, Taiwan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1920The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1920Recent 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 3154.