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Taiwan earthquakes in 1959

8 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more were located in Taiwan in 1959. The largest: M7.2 38 km ENE of Hengchun, Taiwan, Aug 15, 1959.

From the USGS catalog. Times are local to each quake.

19581960

Map

Where every quake of 1959 was located in Taiwan. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Every quake of 1959

Magnitude 4.5 and up, newest first.

Month by month

Counted by UTC date, which is how the catalog files them.

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 19590
February 19590
March 19590
April 195915.880 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan
May 19590
June 195936.2117 km S of Hengchun, Taiwan
July 19590
August 195937.238 km ENE of Hengchun, Taiwan
September 195916.5Taiwan region
October 19590
November 19590
December 19590

What this means

The catalog is only as complete as the instruments of the time. Worldwide coverage of magnitude 5 and up dates from the 1960s, and of 4.5 from the 1990s; earlier years hold the large quakes and the ones near a station, so a low count in an early year means fewer instruments, not a quiet earth.

By year

Every year the USGS catalog covers.

Nearby

Taiwan nowWorldwide in 1959

Sources

Earthquakes, magnitudes, depths, shaking estimates and felt reports from the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, read from its live feeds and its catalog back to 1900. Tsunami messages from NOAA’s tsunami warning centers.