November 14, 1986 Earthquake: Taipei, Hualien, Taiwan
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Taipei, Hualien, Taiwan on November 14, 1986 at 21:20:10 UTC, 34 km below the surface. It killed 15 people, counting the tsunami it caused.
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
- November 14, 1986
- Time
- 21:20:10 UTC
- Place
- Taipei, Hualien, Taiwan
- Magnitude
- 7.8 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 34 km (21 mi)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 23.901° N, 121.574° E
- Country
- Taiwan
The toll
- Deaths
- 15
- Injuries
- 44; 50 with its tsunami and other effects
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
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.
Fifteen people killed, 44 injured and damage (V JMA) in the Taipei-Hua-lien area, mostly in the Taipei area. Landslides occurred along the highway between Su-oo and Hua-lien. Taiwan-to-Guam and Taiwan-to-Okinawa undersea telecommunication cables were damaged. (reference #1053)
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
- June 6, 1862, Tainan, Taiwan
- 1721, Tainan, Taiwan
- March 16, 1906, Jiayi, Taiwan
- December 3, 1848, Zhanghua, Taiwan
- December 18, 1867, Chilung (Keelung), 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
More
Significant earthquakes of 1986The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1986Recent 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 5116.