February 13, 1963 Earthquake: Taipei, Hsinch, Taiwan
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Taipei, Hsinch, Taiwan on February 13, 1963 at 08:50:04 UTC, 47 km below the surface. It killed 15 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
- February 13, 1963
- Time
- 08:50:04 UTC
- Place
- Taipei, Hsinch, Taiwan
- Magnitude
- 7.3 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 47 km (29 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 24.500° N, 122.100° E
- Country
- Taiwan
The toll
- Deaths
- 15
- Injuries
- 18
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Some (about 51 to 100)
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.
Reference #414:
February 13, 1963, 16:50 [local time]. An earthquake on the north of Taiwan excited a tsunami.
[8h50m02s; 24.5o N., 122.3o E.; M=7.3]
Reference #45:
February 13, 1963, 08:50:04.5 UTC, 24.5 N, 122.1 E, depth 47 km, magnitude 7.25. four killed, 18 injured, and widespread but moderate damage in Taipei and Hsinchu. Seismic sea wave generated with 16-inch range at Hwalien.
Reference #150:
February 13, 1963, 16:51 local time, 24.4 N, 122.1 E, depth 10 km, magnitude 7.3. 15 deaths, 6 houses destroyed, 6 houses damaged by quake. Minor tsunami.
Reference #3939:
February 13, 1963, 16:50:07, Off the southeast coast of Yilan, Taiwan Province, 24.4 N, 122.2 E, magnitude 7.
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
- March 16, 1906, Jiayi, Taiwan
- December 3, 1848, Zhanghua, Taiwan
- December 18, 1867, Chilung (Keelung), Taiwan
- February 1845, Zhanghua, Taiwan
- August 9, 1792, Jiayi, Tainan, Taiwan
- August 28, 1916, Taiwan
- October 13, 1815, Taiwan
- October 22, 1951, Taiwan
- April 12, 1910, Taiwan
- March 19, 1897, Yilan, Taiwan
- January 4, 1917, Puli, Taiwan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1963The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1963Recent 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 4283.