December 23, 1978 Earthquake: Pintung, Taiwan
A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Pintung, Taiwan on December 23, 1978 at 11:23:12 UTC, 33 km below the surface. It killed 2 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
- December 23, 1978
- Time
- 11:23:12 UTC
- Place
- Pintung, Taiwan
- Magnitude
- 7 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 23.247° N, 122.075° E
- Country
- Taiwan
The toll
- Deaths
- 2
- Injuries
- 3
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.
Two people killed and 3 injured at Pingtung, Taiwan. Felt (IV) at Ishigakijima and Iriomotejima, Ryukyu islands and (II JMA) on Yonagunijima dn Miyakojima, Ryukyu Islands. (reference #1053)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- April 20, 1935, Mialoi, Taiwan
- July 16, 1935, Xiinzhu, Taiwan
- September 20, 1999, Nantou, Taichung, Taizhong, Taiwan
- 1721, 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
- June 27, 1839, Jiayi, Taiwan
- January 18, 1964, Tainan, Taiwan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1978The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1978Recent 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 4824.