February 6, 2018 Earthquake: Hualien, Taiwan
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Hualien, Taiwan on February 6, 2018 at 15:50:43 UTC, 17 km below the surface. It killed 17 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 6, 2018
- Time
- 15:50:43 UTC
- Place
- Hualien, Taiwan
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 17 km (11 mi)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 24.134° N, 121.659° E
- Country
- Taiwan
The toll
- Deaths
- 17
- Injuries
- 291
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 4
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50)
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.
The death toll from a magnitude 6.0 earthquake which struck Hualien County in eastern Taiwan on Feb. 6 has risen to 17, while 291 have sustained injuries, according Hualien County Commissioner Fu Kun-chi.
The last of a family of five Chinese tourists was confirmed to by dead by rescuers yesterday (Feb. 11) in the Beauty Inn hotel section of the partially collapsed Yun Men Tsui Ti building, which is leaning precariously by 30 degrees. After the last of the five missing Chinese tourists was confirmed to be dead, rescue efforts were called off on Sunday morning.
Authorities will also raze the three other partially collapsed buildings from the quake, including the Marshal Hotel on Gongyuan Road, the Platinum Twin Star Building on Guosheng 6th Street, and the Wu-ju-wu-shu Building on Guosheng 6th Street.
(all above from reference #12012)
Seventeen people killed, 285 injured, 67 missing and many buildings collapsed in Hualien. Hualian, Hualien, Taiwan - CDI: 8; Lotung, Ilan, Taiwan - CDI: 6; Taitung, Taitung, Taiwan - CDI: 6; Luchou, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan - CDI: 4; Tungkang, Pingtung, Taiwan - CDI: 4 (reference #13456)
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 2018The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2018Recent 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 10302.