M5.3 earthquake near Taitung, Taiwan

What happened

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 80 km SSW of Hualien City, Taiwan on 15 May 2017, 23:12 UTC at a depth of 16 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Moderate. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Taitung, about 64 km away in Taiwan, Taiwan.