August 15, 1959 Earthquake: Taiwan
A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Taiwan on August 15, 1959 at 08:57:03 UTC, 60 km below the surface. It killed 16 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
- August 15, 1959
- Time
- 08:57:03 UTC
- Place
- Taiwan
- Magnitude
- 7 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 60 km (37 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 22.180° N, 121.130° E
- Country
- Taiwan
The toll
- Deaths
- 16
- Injuries
- 63
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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.
August 15, 1959, 16:57:03 local time, Northeast of Hengchun, Taiwan Province, 22 deg 11 min N, 121 deg 08 min E, magnitude 7. (reference #3939)
August 15, 1959, 08:57:07 UTC, Formosa, 22 N, 121 E, depth about 60 km, magnitude 6.75-7. 16 killed, 63 injured, and extensive property damage. 80% of brick and stone houses in HengChung destroyed or damaged. (reference #45)
August 15, 1959, S. Taiwan, 16 dead. (reference #1002)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- September 20, 1999, Nantou, Taichung, Taizhong, Taiwan
- 1721, Tainan, Taiwan
- June 6, 1862, Tainan, Taiwan
- March 16, 1906, Jiayi, 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
- June 27, 1839, Jiayi, Taiwan
- January 18, 1964, Tainan, Taiwan
- October 22, 1951, Taiwan
- December 4, 1946, Taiwan
- January 4, 1917, Puli, Taiwan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1959The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1959Recent 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 4197.