July 16, 1935 Earthquake: Xiinzhu, Taiwan
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Xiinzhu, Taiwan on July 16, 1935 at 16:18:58 UTC, 30 km below the surface. It killed 2,746 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
- July 16, 1935
- Time
- 16:18:58 UTC
- Place
- Xiinzhu, Taiwan
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 30 km (19 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 24.600° N, 120.800° E
- Country
- Taiwan
- Region
- East Asia
The toll
- Deaths
- 2,746
- Injuries
- 6,004
- Damage
- Extreme (about $25 million or more)
- Houses destroyed
- 30,000
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.
July 17, 1935, 00:18:58 local time, Xinzhu, Taiwan Province, 24.6 N, 120.8 E, magnitude 6.5
3 localities in the southern part of the Xinzhu-Zhunan,
Miaoli and Dahu-were hit most seriously. An iron bridge was damaged. Houses of 30 thousand families were destroyed. 2,746 people were killed, and 6,004 wounded.
The shock was felt in Fuzhou.
(above from reference #3939)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1048 Academia Sinica (1970). Catalog of Chinese Earthquakes; vol. I (1177 BC to 1900 AD) and vol. II (1901 to 1949). Institute of Geophysics, Peking, China. [in Chinese]
- #3939 Gu Gongxu, Zhou Wenfu, and Wang Renlong (eds.) (1989). Catalogue of Chinese Earthquakes (1831 B.C. - 1969 A.D.). Science Press, Beijing, China; English translation by Li Zengquan et al. provided through UNESCO, 872 pages.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 22, 1782, Tainan, Taiwan
- April 20, 1935, Mialoi, 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 3555.