Significant earthquake of magnitude 5.1 just reported 39 km southeast of Taitung City, Taiwan / VolcanoDiscovery

Sat, 16 Jan 2021, 23:30

23:30 PM | BY: EARTHQUAKEMONITOR

5.1 quake 17 Jan 7:10 am (GMT +8)

An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 occurred in the morning on Sunday 17 January 2021 at 7:10 am local time near Taitung City, Taiwan, as reported by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).
According to preliminary data, the quake was located at a shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. 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.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 5.2 earthquake.
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 Taitung City (pop. 109,600) located 39 km from the epicenter, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Hengchun (pop. 31,300) located 83 km from the epicenter, Donggang (pop. 48,100) 95 km away, Kaohsiung City (pop. 1,519,700) 110 km away, and Yujing (pop. 16,600) 118 km away.
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 data:

I felt this quake

Date & time: 17 Jan 2021 7:10 am (GMT +8) local time (16 Jan 2021 23:10 GMT)
Magnitude: 5.1
Depth: 10.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 22.48°N / 121.37°E (Philippines Sea, Taiwan)
Primary data source: GFZ

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