Qualla: 2024 Hualien Earthquake

2024 Hualien Earthquake: Introduction

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mikenorton, CC BY-SA 3.0. At 7:58 in the morning on April 3, 2024, the ground beneath Hualien City lurched with a violence Taiwan had not felt in 25 years. The magnitude 7.4 earthquake -- measured at 7.2 by Taiwan's Central Weather Administration, 7.4 by the USGS -- struck south of the city, where the Philippine Sea Plate grinds against the Eurasian Plate at a rate of 75 millimeters per year. Within minutes, mountainsides were sliding into the gorges of Taroko National Park, highways were buried under tons of rock, and buildings in the city itself were tilting at alarming angles. Taiwan's earthquake alert system did not send an advance warning for the mainshock. Authorities later admitted they had initially estimated the magnitude at between 6.2 and 6.8 -- a miscalculation that cost precious seconds.

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Image: Mikenorton | CC BY-SA 3.0

2024 Hualien Earthquake: The Mountains Come Down

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 總統府 / Official Photo by Shufu Liu / Office of the President Perspective correction made by Basile Morin from the original version., CC BY 2.0. The worst destruction was not in the city but in the mountains. Taroko National Park, Taiwan's most famous natural landmark, bore the brunt of the earthquake's fury. Massive rockfalls buried sections of the Dekalun Trail, Xiaozhuilu Trail, and Shakadang Trail, catching hikers who...

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Image: 總統府 / Official Photo by Shufu Liu / Office of the President Perspective correction made by Basile Morin from the original version. | CC BY 2.0

2024 Hualien Earthquake: A City Knocked Sideways

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 總統府 / Official Photo by Shufu Liu / Office of the President Perspective correction made by Basile Morin from the original version., CC BY 2.0. In Hualien City, the nine-story Uranus building collapsed, trapping residents inside. Two houses and a restaurant also came down. Across Taiwan, the Central Emergency Operation Center documented at least 2,498 cases of damage: 1,140 in Taipei alone, 497 in New Taipei City, and 36...

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Image: 總統府 / Official Photo by Shufu Liu / Office of the President Perspective correction made by Basile Morin from the original version. | CC BY 2.0

2024 Hualien Earthquake: Aftershocks Without End

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 總統府 / Official Photo by Shufu Liu / Office of the President Perspective correction made by Basile Morin from the original version., CC BY 2.0. The initial shock was only the beginning. At least 1,400 aftershocks followed the mainshock, three of them above magnitude 6.0. A 6.4 event struck less than three hours after the main quake, followed by additional 5.6 and 5.3 events within the hour. On April 22, a 5.8 aftershock ...

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Image: 總統府 / Official Photo by Shufu Liu / Office of the President Perspective correction made by Basile Morin from the original version. | CC BY 2.0

2024 Hualien Earthquake: Taroko in the Balance

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 總統府 / Official Photo by Shufu Liu / Office of the President Perspective correction made by Basile Morin from the original version., CC BY 2.0. The earthquake scarred Taroko Gorge profoundly. Landslides altered the landscape of the canyon, burying trails and obstructing the highway that is the gorge's lifeline. Subsequent flooding later in 2024 compounded the damage. As of 2025, much of the park remains closed -- an unpr...

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Image: 總統府 / Official Photo by Shufu Liu / Office of the President Perspective correction made by Basile Morin from the original version. | CC BY 2.0