October 22, 1951 Earthquake: Taiwan
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Taiwan on October 22, 1951 at 05:43:01 UTC, 21 km below the surface. It killed 68 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
- October 22, 1951
- Time
- 05:43:01 UTC
- Place
- Taiwan
- Magnitude
- 7.3 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 21 km (13 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 23.800° N, 121.700° E
- Country
- Taiwan
The toll
- Deaths
- 68
- Injuries
- 586
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 2,382
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.
A series of shocks on October 21-11, 1951, killed 123 and injured 800, caused destruction in Hualien and minor damage in Hsinkang.
Oct 21, 21:34:12 UTC, 23.5 N, 121.5 E, magnitude 7.3
Oct 22, 03:29:25 UTC, 23.5 N, 121.5 E, magnitude 7.1.
(above from reference #45)
The quake (23.8 N, 121.7 E, magnitude 7.3) caused a landslide, fissure, 68 deaths, 586 injured, and damaged 2,382 houses. (reference #150)
Reference #130 lists:
Oct 21, 21:13:14 UTC 23.75 N, 121.5E, magnitude 7.3, depth 21 km.
Oct 22, 03:29:27 UTC, 23.75 N, 121.25E, magnitude 7.1, depth 21 km.
Oct 22, 05:43:01 UTC, 24.0 N, 121.25 E, magnitude 7.1, depth 21 km.
Tsunamis were recorded from the Oct 22, 05:43 UTC shock on tide gauges at Tofino, Vancouver Island, Canada, (reference #2604) and at Hualienkang, Japan (reference #150).
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
- June 6, 1862, 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 1951The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1951Recent 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 3982.