Very Strong Mag. 6.3 Earthquake - Philippine Sea, Japan, 91 km East of Hualien City, Taiwan, on Monday, May 9, 2022 at 3:23 pm (GMT +9)

Very strong magnitude 6.3 earthquake at 27 km depth

9 May 06:27 UTC: First to report: VolcanoDiscovery after 5 minutes.
9 May 06:29: Now using data updates from GFZ
... [show all] ...
9 May 06:43: Now using data updates from USGS

Update Mon, 9 May 2022, 06:36

Significant 6.1 quake hits near Hualien City, Hualien, Taiwan

6.1 quake 9 May 3:23 pm (GMT +9)

The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) reported a magnitude 6.1 quake in Japan near Hualien City, Hualien, Taiwan, only 13 minutes ago. The earthquake hit early afternoon on Monday, May 9th, 2022, at 3:23 pm local time at a shallow depth of 10 km. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS) which listed the quake at magnitude 5.8. A third agency, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), reported the same quake at magnitude 6.5.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
In Yonakuni (pop. 1,700) located 73 km from the epicenter, Hualien City (pop. 350,500) 91 km away, Yilan (pop. 94,200) 114 km away, and Keelung (pop. 397,500) 148 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you're in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.

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Earthquake details

Date & time	May 9, 2022 06:23:03 UTC -
Local time at epicenter	Monday, May 9, 2022 at 3:23 pm (GMT +9)
Status	Confirmed
Magnitude	6.3
Depth	27.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude	24.0222°N / 122.5011°E (Philippine Sea, Japan)
Antipode	24.022°S / 57.499°W
Shaking intensity	Light shaking
Felt	11 reports
Primary data source	USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Nearest volcano	Unnamed 24.00°N/121.83°E (68 km / 42 mi)
Nearby towns and cities	71 km (44 mi) SW of Yonakuni (pop: 1,680) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 91 km (57 mi) E of Hualien City (Taiwan) (pop: 350,500) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 111 km (69 mi) SE of Yilan (Taiwan) (pop: 94,200) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 145 km (90 mi) SSE of Keelung (Taiwan) (pop: 397,500) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 150 km (93 mi) SE of Taipei (Taiwan) (pop: 7,871,900) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 152 km (94 mi) SE of Banciao (Taiwan) (pop: 543,300) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 156 km (97 mi) E of Puli (Taiwan) (pop: 86,400) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 163 km (101 mi) SE of Taoyuan City (Taiwan) (pop: 402,000) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 172 km (107 mi) WSW of Ishigaki (pop: 44,800) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 297 km (184 mi) WSW of Hirara (Miyakojima) (pop: 34,400) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 69 km (43 mi) SW of Kumi Island (pop: 1,680) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 350 km (218 mi) SE of Matsu Island (pop: 4,000) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 361 km (224 mi) ESE of Meichen Island (pop: 38,000) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby
Weather at epicenter at time of quake	Light Rain 25.2°C (77 F), humidity: 82%, wind: 6 m/s (12 kts) from NE
Estimated seismic energy released	1.8 x 10¹⁴ joules (49.4 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 42502 tons of TNT or 2.7 atomic bombs!) \| about seismic energy

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Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies

Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.

Mag.	Depth	Location	Source
6.3	27 km	70 Km SW of Yonakuni, Japan	USGS
6.3	20 km	Japan: TAIWAN REGION	EMSC
6.1	10 km	Japan: Near Taipei	RENASS
6.4	20 km	Japan [Sea]	INGV
6.2	30 km	Japan: Taiwan Region	GFZ
6.2	10 km	Japan: Taiwan Region	GeoAu
6.3	27 km	Japan: Taiwan Region	RaspberryShake

Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in Taiwan

Seismograms

Seismic station: Tucson, Arizona (TUC/IU network) | Distance from quake: 11577 km / 7194 mi | Show on map | Station Info

Seismic station Tucson, Arizona: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.02-2.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

User reports for this quake (13)

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.

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Taipei (149.6 km NW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : Staying in Amba hotel in Taipei city. Felt horizontal swaying for 30 to 60 seconds. None of the movements were particularly violent. | 5 users found this interesting.

Tao (146.8 km NW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : My first earthquake, amazing | 5 users found this interesting.

Okinawa (599.8 km ENE of epicenter) [Map] / not felt

Taipei (149.1 km NW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

near Taichung (196.2 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Ranau, Sabah (2103.2 km SSW of epicenter) [Map] / not felt : not felt (reported through our app)

Taipei (146.9 km NW of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : Weak shake

Taipei / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

Kaohsiung / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

Sanchong District, New Taipei City / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Taipei City / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

Taipei City / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s

Taipei / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s (reported through our app)

Aftershocks

[More info]

Recorded aftershocks, latest first (19 quakes)

Date and time	Mag Depth	Location	Details
Nov 1, 2022 08:30 21 weeks ago	5.4 107 km	East China Sea, Japan, 88 km E of Yilan, Taiwan	More
Oct 28, 2022 15:30 22 weeks ago - felt	4.6 66 km	Philippine Sea, 32 km E of Yilan, Taiwan	More
Oct 25, 2022 12:30 22 weeks ago	4.2 27 km	Philippine Sea, Japan, 88 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan	More
Oct 10, 2022 19:24 24 weeks ago - felt	5.5 15 km	Philippine Sea, 69 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan	More
Oct 9, 2022 20:43 24 weeks ago	4.3 19 km	Philippine Sea, 45 km NE of Hualien City, Taiwan	More
Oct 2, 2022 03:47 25 weeks ago	4.7 28 km	Philippine Sea, Japan, 99 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan	More
Sep 17, 2022 19:25 27 weeks ago	4.4 35 km	Philippine Sea, 59 km SW of Yonakuni, Yaeyama-gun, Okinawa, Japan	More
Aug 20, 2022 04:07 32 weeks ago	4.9 30 km	Philippine Sea, 72 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan	More
Aug 18, 2022 09:28 32 weeks ago	4.4 25 km	Philippine Sea, 82 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan	More
Aug 2, 2022 21:44 34 weeks ago	4.3 23 km	Philippine Sea, Japan, 88 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan	More
Jun 24, 2022 17:44 40 weeks ago	4.2 53 km	Philippine Sea, 29 km S of Yonakuni, Yaeyama-gun, Okinawa, Japan	More
Jun 23, 2022 22:32 40 weeks ago	5.1 26 km	Philippine Sea, Japan, 88 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan	More
Jun 23, 2022 21:58 40 weeks ago	4.2 10 km	Philippine Sea, Japan, 89 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan	More
Jun 2, 2022 06:03 43 weeks ago	4.5 8 km	Philippine Sea, Japan, 99 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan	More
May 24, 2022 07:37 44 weeks ago	4.7 10 km	Philippine Sea, Japan, 94 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan	More
May 14, 2022 10:05 45 weeks ago	4.5 24 km	Philippine Sea, Japan, 100 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan	More
May 12, 2022 11:45 46 weeks ago	4.4 10 km	Philippine Sea, Japan, 98 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan	More
May 9, 2022 14:09 46 weeks ago	4.6 35 km	Philippine Sea, Japan, 97 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan	More
May 9, 2022 07:45 46 weeks ago	5.0 24 km	Philippine Sea, Japan, 96 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan	More

Earlier earthquakes in the same area

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Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in Taiwan

Very strong mag. 6.3 earthquake - Philippine Sea, Japan, 91 km east of Hualien City, Taiwan, on Monday, May 9, 2022 at 3:23 pm (GMT +9) -

Very strong magnitude 6.3 earthquake at 27 km depth

Significant 6.1 quake hits near Hualien City, Hualien, Taiwan

Earthquake details

Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies

Seismograms

User reports for this quake (13)

Aftershocks

Recorded aftershocks, latest first (19 quakes)

Earlier earthquakes in the same area

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Very strong mag. 6.3 earthquake - Philippine Sea, Japan, 91 km east of Hualien City, Taiwan, on Monday, May 9, 2022 at 3:23 pm (GMT +9) - writeAge(1652077383)

Very strong magnitude 6.3 earthquake at 27 km depth

Significant 6.1 quake hits near Hualien City, Hualien, Taiwan

Earthquake details

Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies

Seismograms

User reports for this quake (13)

Aftershocks

Recorded aftershocks, latest first (19 quakes)

Earlier earthquakes in the same area

Support us - Help us upgrade our services!

Very strong mag. 6.3 earthquake - Philippine Sea, Japan, 91 km east of Hualien City, Taiwan, on Monday, May 9, 2022 at 3:23 pm (GMT +9) -