April 20, 1935 Earthquake: Mialoi, Taiwan
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Mialoi, Taiwan on April 20, 1935 at 22:01:54 UTC. It killed 3,276 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
- April 20, 1935
- Time
- 22:01:54 UTC
- Place
- Mialoi, Taiwan
- Magnitude
- 6 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 24.300° N, 120.800° E
- Country
- Taiwan
The toll
- Deaths
- 3,276
- Injuries
- 12,053
- Damage
- Extreme (about $25 million or more)
- Houses destroyed
- 17,907
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.
April 21, 1935, 06:01:54 local time, Miaoli, Taiwan Province, 24.3 N, 120.8 E, magnitude 6, intensity VII-VIII.
At 25 locations, falling and collapsing took place. The railway was destroyed, iron bridges were fractured and tunnels cracked. 17,907 rooms completely collapsed, 11,405 partially collapsed and 9,806 were seriously damaged. The around fissured with emission of mud. The railway subsided
at many places along the coast, with maximum subsidence over 2m. 3,276 people were killed 12,053 injured.
The shock was felt in jUong, Tainan, Hualian and Penghu Islands, Taiwan Province; Fuzhou, Fujian Province; Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province.
(above from reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 22, 1782, Tainan, 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
- June 27, 1839, Jiayi, Taiwan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1935The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1935Recent 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 3546.