Moderate magnitude 4.4 earthquake at 40 km depth12 Aug 20:00 UTC: First to report: CWB after 6 minutes.12 Aug 20:00: Now using data updates from EMSCI didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeAug 12, 2026 19:54:22 UTC - Local time at epicenterWednesday, Aug 12, 2026, at 07:54 pm (Universal Time GMT +0)StatusconfirmedMagnitude4.40Depth40 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude21.88°N / 120.71°ETaiwanSeismic antipode21.88°S / 59.29°WShaking intensityIII Weak shaking near epicenterFelt0 reportsPrimary data sourceEMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)Nearest volcanoUnnamed 21.83°N/121.18°E (49 km / 30 mi)Estimated seismic energy released2.5 x 1011 joules (69.8 megawatt hours, equivalent to 60 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 4.4 | about seismic energy8 minutes agoAug 12, 2026 19:54 GMT / Aug 12, 2026 07:54 pm (Universal Time)Lat / Lng: 21.88 / 120.71: Taiwan RegionSource: EMSCOther sources: CWB: 4.4 / 40 kmDetail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-23266835',21.88000,120.71000,'8 minutes ago: Mag. 4.4, Taiwan Region',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 TaiwanNearby placesThe closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Kaohsiung, a city of 2.7 million people in Taiwan, in 91 km (57 mi) distance northwest 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, 363 km (225 mi) away from the epicenter, the earthquake could not be felt.The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.DistancePlaceMax. shaking intensity(*)RegionCountry14 km (9 mi)N of epicenterHengchun(pop: 29,700)III: WeakPingtung, TaiwanTaiwan70 km (44 mi)N of epicenterDonggang(pop: 47,700)III: WeakPingtung, TaiwanTaiwan77 km (48 mi)N of epicenterChaozhou(pop: 53,300)III: WeakPingtung, TaiwanTaiwan91 km (56 mi)NW of epicenterFengshan(pop: 356,500)III: WeakKaohsiung, KaohsiungTaiwan91 km (57 mi)NW of epicenterKaohsiung(pop: 2,737,700)III: WeakKaohsiungTaiwan108 km (67 mi)NE of epicenterTaitung(pop: 103,300)II: Very weakTaiwanTaiwan134 km (83 mi)N of epicenterTainan(pop: 1,856,600)II: Very weakTaiwanTaiwan136 km (84 mi)N of epicenterYongkang(pop: 233,700)II: Very weakTainan, TaiwanTaiwan141 km (88 mi)N of epicenterYujing(pop: 16,600)II: Very weakTainan, TaiwanTaiwan164 km (102 mi)N of epicenterXinying(pop: 75,000)II: Very weakTainan, TaiwanTaiwan176 km (109 mi)N of epicenterBudai(pop: 19,300)II: Very weakChiyayi County, TaiwanTaiwan180 km (112 mi)N of epicenterChiayi City(pop: 263,200)II: Very weakChiayi, TaiwanTaiwan180 km (112 mi)N of epicenterTaibao(pop: 38,700)II: Very weakChiyayi County, TaiwanTaiwan190 km (118 mi)N of epicenterXingang(pop: 30,500)II: Very weakChiyayi County, TaiwanTaiwan193 km (120 mi)N of epicenterBeigang(pop: 33,300)II: Very weakYunlin, TaiwanTaiwan204 km (127 mi)N of epicenterDouliu(pop: 107,900)II: Very weakYunlin, TaiwanTaiwan209 km (130 mi)N of epicenterZhushan(pop: 44,100)II: Very weakNantou, TaiwanTaiwan210 km (130 mi)N of epicenterCitong(pop: 25,000)II: Very weakYunlin, TaiwanTaiwan215 km (134 mi)N of epicenterXiluo(pop: 37,200)II: Very weakYunlin, TaiwanTaiwan220 km (137 mi)NW of epicenterMagong(pop: 63,700)II: Very weakPenghu County, TaiwanTaiwan220 km (137 mi)N of epicenterTianzhong(pop: 34,900)II: Very weakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan222 km (138 mi)N of epicenterBeidou(pop: 33,300)II: Very weakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan225 km (140 mi)N of epicenterShetou(pop: 36,600)II: Very weakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan225 km (140 mi)N of epicenterPitou(pop: 29,300)II: Very weakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan227 km (141 mi)N of epicenterNantou(pop: 105,700)II: Very weakTaiwanTaiwan227 km (141 mi)N of epicenterErlin(pop: 43,700)II: Very weakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan228 km (141 mi)N of epicenterYongjing(pop: 35,400)II: Very weakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan231 km (144 mi)N of epicenterZhongxing New Village(pop: 25,500)II: Very weakNantou, TaiwanTaiwan231 km (144 mi)N of epicenterYuanlin(pop: 124,700)II: Very weakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan232 km (144 mi)N of epicenterXihu(pop: 54,000)II: Very weakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan233 km (145 mi)N of epicenterCaotun(pop: 96,800)II: Very weakNantou, TaiwanTaiwan234 km (145 mi)N of epicenterPuli(pop: 86,400)II: Very weakNantou, TaiwanTaiwan243 km (151 mi)N of epicenterWufeng(pop: 65,600)II: Very weakTaichung City, TaiwanTaiwan244 km (152 mi)N of epicenterChanghua(pop: 226,600)II: Very weakTaiwanTaiwan244 km (152 mi)N of epicenterChang-hua(pop: 226,600)II: Very weakChanghua, TaiwanTaiwan251 km (156 mi)N of epicenterHualien City(pop: 99,500)II: Very weakHualien, TaiwanTaiwan252 km (157 mi)N of epicenterTaichung(pop: 2,850,300)II: Very weakTaiwanTaiwan260 km (161 mi)N of epicenterBuzi(pop: 40,500)II: Very weakTaichung City, TaiwanTaiwan299 km (186 mi)N of epicenterMiaoli(pop: 86,300)I: Not feltTaiwanTaiwan363 km (225 mi)N of epicenterTaipei(pop: 7,871,900)I: Not feltTaiwanTaiwanNotes:(*) 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 GMT2026-08-12EpicenterAgency4.440 km25 mi19:54:22.2TAIWAN REGIONEMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)4.440 km25 mi19:54:0091.7 km SSE of Pingtung County Hall0 km (0 mi) epicenter difference with EMSCCWB (Central Weather Bureau)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)Aug 12, 2026 07:54 pm (Universal Time)8 minutes ago4.440 km0 km - This quakeTaiwan RegionMain 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 31.1 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 7 or higher: 0.06 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 18.2 years)Mag. 6 or higher: 0.23 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 4.4 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 2 quakes per yearMag. 4 or higher: 20.5 quakes per yearMag. 3 or higher: 29.9 quakes per yearMag. 2 or higher: 568 quakes per year (or 47 quakes per month)Mag. 1 or higher: 1,100 quakes per year (or 2.9 quakes per day)The area where this quake occurred has a very high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 7 quakes above magnitude 7 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 15 to 20 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake