January 18, 1964 Earthquake: Tainan, Taiwan
A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Tainan, Taiwan on January 18, 1964 at 12:04:41 UTC, 33 km below the surface. It killed 107 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
- January 18, 1964
- Time
- 12:04:41 UTC
- Place
- Tainan, Taiwan
- Magnitude
- 7 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 23.200° N, 120.600° E
- Country
- Taiwan
The toll
- Deaths
- 107
- Injuries
- 479
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 3,000
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.
January 18, 1964, 20:04:41 local time, Southeast of Tainan, Taiwan Province, 23.2 N, 120.6 E, magnitude 7.
The shock was felt in Shantou, Chang1e, Luoyuan, Lianjiang, Plngtan, Zhangping, Fuqing, Fu'an, Putian, Xiapu and Quanzhou.
(above from reference #3939)
January 18, 1964, 12:04:40 UTC, Taiwan, 23.1 N, 120.5 E, depth about 33 km, magnitude 6.75. 107 killed, 479 injured and about 3000 homes destroyed.
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
- 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
- February 5, 2016, Tainan, Taiwan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1964The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1964Recent 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 4308.