January 25, 1972 Earthquake: Taiwan
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Taiwan on January 25, 1972 at 02:06:23 UTC, 33 km below the surface. It killed 1 person.
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 25, 1972
- Time
- 02:06:23 UTC
- Place
- Taiwan
- Magnitude
- 7.5 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Intensity
- 6 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 22.500° N, 122.300° E
- Country
- Taiwan
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 5
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 25, 1972, 02:06:23.3 UTC, 22.5 N, 122.3 E, magnitude 6.3 mb, 7.5 MS, one killed, five houses destroyed and some damage to roads on Taiwan. (reference #1053)
January 25, 1972, 02:06:23.3 UTC, Taiwan, 22.5 N, 122.33 E, depth 33 km, magnitude 7.2 mb, 8.5 MS. (reference #1229)
On January 25, 1972 at 10:06 [local time] an earthquake occurred on Taiwan, generating a weak tsunami. It was felt with a maximum intensity of VII points (Rossi-Fore1 scale). It was also felt in Hong Kong at an intensity of IV and in Basco at V; it was felt at II in Ithayat Island (Batan Islands) and at Tuguegarao and Aparri on Luzon Island; it was felt at III (JMA scale) in the Ryukyu Islands and on Yonaguni Island; it was felt at II on Miyako Island. A very weak tsunami with a height of 5 cm was recorded on Ishigaki Jima. (reference #417)
January 25, 1972, 22.6 N, 122.3 E, depth 29 km, magnitude 7.4 Ms, tsunami magnitude 0 (reference #11134)
January 25, 1972, 22.6 N, 122.4 E, , magnitude 8 Ms; the Pacific sea earthquake of Ms 8 in Taiwan in 1972 killed only one person and slightly injured one person. (reference #12988)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- August 28, 1916, Taiwan
- February 5, 2016, Tainan, Taiwan
- January 18, 1964, Tainan, Taiwan
- October 22, 1951, Taiwan
- August 24, 1927, Taiwan
- April 2, 2024, Hua-Lien, Taiwan
- November 24, 1951, Taiwan
- February 6, 2018, Hualien, Taiwan
- August 15, 1959, Taiwan
- November 14, 1986, Taipei, Hualien, Taiwan
- February 23, 1957, Hualien, Taipei, Taiwan
- July 26, 2019, Itbayat, Batanes, Philippines
- March 12, 1966, Taiwan
- June 5, 1920, Taiwan
- July 17, 1998, Chia-I, Tainan, Hualien, Kao-Hsiung, Taiwan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1972The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1972Recent 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 4590.