Old Taiwan earthquake picture falsely shared as recent

"A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan. Twenty-seven people were injured and several homes have been destroyed," read a Thai-language Facebook post on January 21, 2025 that included the picture.

"The strong shaking of the earthquake was felt late at night in southern Taiwan. Its magnitude is recorded as 6.4 on the Richter scale by the United States Geological Survey. These tremors were felt at 12:17 a.m. local time, January 21, 2025."

Image

Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken January 23, 2025

Similar posts written in Thai and Tagalog also shared the photo after the US Geological Survey said a 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit Taiwan. The epicentre was recorded 12km north of Yujing, a mango-growing district in southern Taiwan (archived link).

Taiwan's Central Weather Administration reported the initial quake at magnitude 6.4.

The ceilings of several homes collapsed, while roads were blocked by falling rocks and landslides, the National Fire Agency said. But the agency reported "no major damage" from the quake, which injured 27 people according to the health ministry.

A reverse image search on Google found the picture published in a report on the French newspaper Le Monde on April 3, 2024 (archived link).

"This photo taken by Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on April 3, 2024, shows people looking at a damaged building in Hualien, after a major earthquake hit Taiwan's east," its caption read.

A magnitude-7.4 earthquake struck in Hualien City, on the east coast of Taiwan on April 3, 2024, AFP reported at the time. It was Taiwan's strongest quake in 25 years, killing at least 17 people and severely damaging buildings around Hualien (archived links here and here).

AFP also distributed the picture, which can be viewed on the agency's archives.

Image

Screenshot comparison between the picture in the false posts (left) and the photo on AFP's archives (right)

AFP previously debunked misinformation about the recent Taiwan quake.