Moderate magnitude 4.5 earthquake at 8 km depth3 Mar 15:39 UTC: First to report: EMSC after 5 minutes.I didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeMar 3, 2026 15:34:29 UTC - Local time at epicenterTuesday, Mar 3, 2026, at 11:34 pm (GMT +8)Statuspreliminary (automatic detection)Magnitude4.5Depth8.4 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude23.22°N / 120.47°ETainan, Taiwan, TaiwanSeismic antipode23.22°S / 59.53°WParaguayShaking intensityV Moderate shaking near epicenterFelt0 reportsPrimary data sourceEMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)Nearest volcanoUnnamed 24.00°N/121.83°E (164 km / 102 mi)Weather at epicenter at time of quakeOvercast Clouds 18.9°C (66 F), humidity: 84%, wind: 2 m/s (3 kts) from NEstimated seismic energy released3.5 x 1011 joules (98.6 megawatt hours, equivalent to 84.8 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 4.5 | about seismic energy6 minutes agoMar 3, 2026 15:34 GMT / Mar 3, 2026 11:34 pm (GMT +8)Lat / Lng: 23.22 / 120.47: TaiwanSource: EMSCDetail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-22770264',23.22000,120.47000,'6 minutes ago: Mag. 4.5, Taiwan',html,'quakes-6-24.png',25,25,12,12,125]); function mkRep(id,notFelt){var nFelt=notFelt||false;var src="https://www.volcanoesandearthquakes.com/app/earthquake-report.php?quakeId="+id;if(nFelt==true){src+="¬Felt=true";}window.open(src,"","status=0,toolbar=0,location=0,directories=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,height=400,width=350");} function locationHashChanged(e){-1!=e.oldURL.indexOf("#popupMap")&&closePopup()} window.onhashchange = locationHashChanged; function comment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=(t.dataset.id,document.getElementById("commentForm"));"none"==a.style.display?(t.appendChild(a),a.style.display="block"):a.style.display="none"}function sendComment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=t.parentNode.dataset.id,n=document.getElementById("commentContent"),p=n.value.trim();if(p){var o="id="+a+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId;o+="&comment="+decodeURIComponent(p),mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",o,function(e){e.responseText;alert("Thank you for submitting your comment!"),t.style.display="none",n.value=""})}}function flagReport(e){var t=e.parentNode.dataset.id;if(confirm("Report this as inappropriate?")){var a="id="+t+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&flagAsInappropriate=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",a,function(t){var a=t.responseText;alert(a),e.style.display="none"})}}function likeReport(e){var t="id="+e.parentNode.dataset.id+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&like=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",t,function(t){t.responseText;e.style.opacity=.5})}]]>[smaller] [bigger]Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in Taiwan TaiwanNearby placesThe closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Tainan, a city of 1.9 million people in Taiwan, in 37 km (23 mi) distance southwest of the epicenter. People likely experienced weak shaking there. Several smaller towns and villages are located closer to the epicenter and might have experienced stronger shaking. In the capital of Taiwan, Taipei, 230 km (143 mi) away from the epicenter, the earthquake was probably felt as very weak shaking.The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.DistancePlaceMax. shaking intensity(*)RegionCountry11 km (7 mi)S of epicenterYujing(pop: 16,600)IV: LightTainan, TaiwanTaiwan19 km (12 mi)NW of epicenterXinying(pop: 75,000)IV: LightTainan, TaiwanTaiwan29 km (18 mi)N of epicenterChiayi City(pop: 263,200)IV: LightChiayi, TaiwanTaiwan30 km (19 mi)NW of epicenterTaibao(pop: 38,700)IV: LightChiyayi County, TaiwanTaiwan31 km (19 mi)SW of epicenterYongkang(pop: 233,700)IV: LightTainan, TaiwanTaiwan36 km (22 mi)NW of epicenterBudai(pop: 19,300)III: WeakChiyayi County, TaiwanTaiwan37 km (23 mi)SW of epicenterTainan(pop: 1,856,600)III: WeakTaiwanTaiwan42 km (26 mi)NW of epicenterDongshi(pop: 15,000)III: WeakChiyayi County, TaiwanTaiwan43 km (26 mi)NW of epicenterBeigang(pop: 33,300)III: WeakYunlin, TaiwanTaiwan55 km (34 mi)N of epicenterDouliu(pop: 107,900)III: WeakYunlin, TaiwanTaiwan60 km (37 mi)N of epicenterCitong(pop: 25,000)III: WeakYunlin, TaiwanTaiwan62 km (39 mi)N of epicenterLinnei(pop: 16,900)III: WeakYunlin, TaiwanTaiwan63 km (39 mi)N of epicenterZhushan(pop: 44,100)III: WeakNantou, TaiwanTaiwan64 km (40 mi)N of epicenterXiluo(pop: 37,200)III: WeakYunlin, TaiwanTaiwan65 km (41 mi)NE of epicenterLugu(pop: 17,700)III: WeakNantou, TaiwanTaiwan67 km (42 mi)S of epicenterFengshan(pop: 356,500)III: WeakKaohsiung, KaohsiungTaiwan67 km (42 mi)N of epicenterErshui(pop: 14,100)III: WeakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan72 km (45 mi)N of epicenterTianzhong(pop: 34,900)III: WeakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan73 km (45 mi)N of epicenterBeidou(pop: 33,300)III: WeakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan73 km (46 mi)E of epicenterGuanshan(pop: 8,160)III: WeakTaitung, TaiwanTaiwan75 km (47 mi)S of epicenterChaozhou(pop: 55,100)III: WeakPingtung, TaiwanTaiwan75 km (47 mi)N of epicenterTianwei(pop: 26,100)III: WeakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan75 km (47 mi)N of epicenterPitou(pop: 29,300)III: WeakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan76 km (47 mi)N of epicenterShetou(pop: 36,600)III: WeakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan76 km (47 mi)N of epicenterErlin(pop: 43,700)III: WeakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan78 km (49 mi)N of epicenterYongjing(pop: 35,400)III: WeakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan80 km (50 mi)N of epicenterNantou(pop: 105,700)III: WeakTaiwanTaiwan82 km (51 mi)N of epicenterXihu(pop: 47,000)III: WeakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan83 km (51 mi)N of epicenterYuanlin(pop: 124,700)III: WeakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan84 km (52 mi)S of epicenterDonggang(pop: 47,700)III: WeakPingtung, TaiwanTaiwan85 km (53 mi)N of epicenterZhongxing New Village(pop: 25,500)III: WeakNantou, TaiwanTaiwan86 km (53 mi)SE of epicenterTaitung(pop: 103,300)III: WeakTaiwanTaiwan87 km (54 mi)N of epicenterCaotun(pop: 96,800)III: WeakNantou, TaiwanTaiwan95 km (59 mi)N of epicenterChanghua(pop: 226,600)III: WeakTaiwanTaiwan95 km (59 mi)N of epicenterChang-hua(pop: 226,600)III: WeakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan97 km (60 mi)N of epicenterWufeng(pop: 65,600)III: WeakTaichung City, TaiwanTaiwan97 km (61 mi)NE of epicenterPuli(pop: 86,400)III: WeakNantou, TaiwanTaiwan98 km (61 mi)NW of epicenterMagong(pop: 63,700)III: WeakPenghu County, TaiwanTaiwan228 km (142 mi)NE of epicenterNew Taipei City(pop: 4,004,400)II: Very weakNew Taipei City, TaipeiTaiwan230 km (143 mi)NE of epicenterTaipei(pop: 7,871,900)II: Very weakTaiwanTaiwanNotes:(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.User-reports for this quakeThere are no user reports for this quake yet.If you felt it, be the first to report it!Get the Android appCompare Quake DataData for the same earthquake as reported by different agenciesThe 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.MagDepthTime GMT2026-03-3EpicenterAgency4.58.4 km5.2 mi15:34:29.4TAIWANEMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)Aftershocks for this quakeNo aftershocks have been recorded so far. When aftershocks are detected, we will update this section.What are aftershocks?Larger earthquakes (above magnitude 5 or so) such as this one are usually followed by smaller ones known as aftershocks that occur in the same area during the days, weeks, months or even years after the main shock.[More info]What about this quake?Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake likely ruptured beneath a surface area of approximately 3 km2 (1 square miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 3 km (2 mi).[More info]Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake)Mar 3, 2026 11:34 pm (GMT +8)6 minutes ago4.58.4 km0 km - This quake19 km SE of Xinying, TaiwanMain Shock (this quake)MoreMap of aftershocksEarthquake statisticsAverage number of earthquakesBased on data from the past 26 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 82 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 7 or higher: 0.03 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 31.3 years)Mag. 6 or higher: 0.34 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 2.9 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 1.98 quakes per yearMag. 4 or higher: 40 quakes per year (or 3.3 quakes per month)Mag. 3 or higher: 80 quakes per year (or 6.7 quakes per month)Mag. 2 or higher: 1,400 quakes per year (or 3.8 quakes per day)Mag. 1 or higher: 4,500 quakes per year (or 12.4 quakes per day)The area where this quake occurred has a very high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 4 quakes above magnitude 7 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 30 to 35 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake