The major seismic faults in Taiwan correspond to the various suture zones between the various terranes . As a result , Taiwan has numerous mud volcanoes and hot springs . These faults have produced several major quakes throughout the history of the island , including the 1951 East Rift Valley earthquakes on the East Rift Valley ( 花東縱谷 ) and 1964 Baihe earthquake on the Chukou Fault . The 1946 Hsinhua earthquake ruptured the Hsinhua fault ( 新化斷層 ) . The most lethal was 1935 Hsinchu-Taichung earthquake shifting on a fault at Emei Township , Hsinchu County . The second deadliest was a 7.3 quake that ruptured the Chelongpu Fault ( 車籠埔斷層 ) on 21 September 1999 , known as the " 921 earthquake " . On 4 March 2010 at about 01:20 UTC , a magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit southern Taiwan . The seismic hazard map for Taiwan by the USGS shows 9/10 of the island as the highest rating ( most hazardous )
921 earthquake
1999 Jiji earthquake
Geology of Taiwan