Photos show damage caused by deadly Taiwan tremor in 2024, not after January 2025 quake

"A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck southwestern Taiwan at 12:17 am today, January 21, 2025," read the Visayan-language caption to photos shared on Facebook. 

The three photos show a wrecked building, a precariously tilting high-rise, and a partially collapsed house.

Authorities said 27 people were injured in the quake, which the US Geological Survey put at a magnitude of 6.0 (archived link). 

The National Fire Agency reported there had been "no major damage", though it did trigger landslides and caused ceilings in several homes to collapse. 

The Central Weather Administration, which reported the initial quake at magnitude 6.4, said the epicentre was recorded in southwest Chiayi county (archived link).

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on January 27, 2025

The photos circulated in Facebook posts here and here, as well as a post by Philippine digital media outlet Cebu Daily News.

Two of the three photos in the posts, however, do not show the aftermath of the January earthquake.

April 2024 jolt

Reverse image searches of the photo of a badly damaged building with a crane next to it on Google and Baidu led to similar images published on the Hualien City government's website on May 24, 2024 (archived link).

Its Chinese-language caption read: "The April 3 earthquake caused serious damage to many buildings in Hualien. Currently, 16 buildings have been demolished or are being demolished. The demolition and tidying up operation of the Azure Hotel is expected to be completed on June 7."

The magnitude 7.4 quake that hit the island on April 3 killed at least 17 people, injured more than 1,100, and damaged buildings and infrastructure near the epicentre in eastern Hualien city (archived link). 

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Screenshot comparison of the picture in the false post (left) and the photo published by Hualien City government (right), with matching elements highlighted by AFP

Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) also published a similar photo of the damaged hotel building -- which it said was located on Zhongzheng Road -- on May 23 (archived here and here).

The second photo shared online, showing a building leaning to one side, is available in AFP's archives and was taken after Taiwan was shaken by dozens of earthquakes two weeks after the huge April 3 quake.

The government said the quakes, which left buildings swaying and some tilting, were aftershocks (archived link).

The caption of the photo in AFP's archives read: "This picture released by Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) on April 23, 2024 shows the Full Hotel, which had been previously damaged in the April 3 earthquake, tilted at an angle after a series of earthquakes overnight in Hualien."

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Screenshot comparison of the picture in the false posts (left) and the photo as it appears in AFP's archives (right)

Meanwhile, the final photo -- also distributed by AFP -- does show the aftermath of the January 2025 tremor.

Its caption read: "This picture shows a collapsed wall of a house after an earthquake in Lucao township, Chiayi County on January 21, 2025."

AFP has debunked other misinformation sparked by the recent Taiwan quake here and here.