The February 5, 2016 M 6.4 earthquake east of Tainan in southern Taiwan occurred as the result of oblique thrust faulting at shallow-mid crustal depths (20 km). The focal mechanisms indicate rupture occurred on a fault oriented either northwest-southeast, and dipping shallowly to the northeast, or on a north-south striking structure dipping steeply to the west.
Taiwan lies in a region of complex tectonics, at the boundary between the Philippine Sea and Eurasia plate. To the north and east, the Philippine Sea plate subducts beneath Eurasia towards the north-northwest, along the Ryukyu Trench. South of the island, the South China Sea subducts to the east beneath the Philippine Sea plate at the Manila Trench. Moving north, subduction tectonics transition to arc-continent collision along the western side of Taiwan. At the location of the earthquake, the two plates converge in a northwest-southeast direction at the velocity of about 80 mm/yr.
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