Strong M6.4 earthquake hits southern Taiwan
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CWA) as M6.4 hit Chiayi County in southern Taiwan at 16:17 UTC on January 20, 2025 (00:17 LT, January 21). The agency is reporting a depth of 9.7 km (6 miles). The USGS is reporting M6.0 at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), EMSC M6.0 at a depth of 6 km (3.7 miles).
Image credit: TW/SAM, Google
The epicenter was located 12 km (8 miles) N of Yujing (population 16 597), 32 km (20 miles) NE of Yongkang (population 233 730), 38 km (24 miles) NE of Tainan (population 771 235), and 71 km (44 miles) NNE of Kaohsiung (population 1 519 711), Takao, Taiwan.
According to the USGS PAGER, 1 429 000 people are estimated to have felt strong shaking, 3 668 000 moderate, and 8 160 000 light.
The USGS issued a Green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.
Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are a mix of vulnerable and earthquake resistant construction. The predominant vulnerable building types are unknown/miscellaneous types and heavy wood frame construction.
Recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides that might have contributed to losses.
USGS estimates that liquefaction triggered by this earthquake could be significant in severity and (or) spatial extent.
The number of people living near areas that could have produced liquefaction in this earthquake is over 1 million.
The quake was followed by M5.1 (USGS) at 16:26 UTC at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).
Update:
At least 27 people were injured. The quake damaged infrastructure, triggered landslides, and was felt as far as Taipei. Read more about it:
Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking
Selected cities exposed
Regional seismicity
References:
1 M6.0 earthquake Taiwan – CWA – January 20, 2025
2 M6.0 earthquake Taiwan – USGS – January 20, 2025
3 M6.0 earthquake Taiwan – EMSC – January 20, 2025
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
Commenting rules and guidelines
We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules.