Kaohsiung Travel Risk — Moderate Risk (27/100)
Is Kaohsiung safe right now? Checked 16 October 2026
Kaohsiung scores 27/100 on our travel risk index (Moderate). The US State Department rates Taiwan Level 1 (Exercise Normal Precautions, updated 25 Nov 2025); the UK has no advice against travel; Canada says: exercise normal security precautions. No GDACS or USGS hazard events within 100 km in the last 14 days. No change in government advice in the last 7 days.
Disease & health (score 15)
Political instability (score 35)
September 27, 2026
Kaohsiung, Taiwan has a current Travel Risk Calculator composite score of 27 out of 100 (moderate risk tier); the highest-rated risk category is political instability at 35/100; the lowest-rated category is disease & health at 15/100; last updated September 27, 2026. For official nationwide security advisories, entry requirements, and health notices, see the Taiwan travel risk page. Real-time conditions below include live weather, official advisory levels, GDACS disaster alerts, and current news.
Get a personalized assessment for your tripHow safe is Kaohsiung to visit in 2026?
Kaohsiung currently sits at 27/100 on our composite travel-risk index, which puts it in the moderate-risk tier. Most travelers will be fine with normal precautions, but a few categories below score high enough that planning matters. The highest-rated risk category for Kaohsiung is political instability (35/100), and the lowest is disease & health (15/100). This page was last updated on September 27, 2026; the baseline category scores reflect analytical indicators, layered with live conditions throughout the day. Live conditions — weather and air quality every 30 minutes, US State Department advisory every 6 hours, GDACS disaster alerts every 30 minutes, CDC health notices every 12 hours, and news every hour — are cached at the source and refreshed automatically when stale.
Driven by: natural hazards (63/100) and security (10/100).
A score of 27 is higher than the scores of 18% of the 241 countries we cover.
AI safety snapshot · refreshed Oct 13, 2026
Kaohsiung currently has a moderate overall risk level, with a baseline composite score of 27 out of 100. The U.S. State Department has issued a Level 1 travel advisory, and the CDC has a Level 1 health notice for global dengue. Travelers should remain vigilant and take standard precautions.
AI-summarized strictly from the live public-source data below (US State Dept advisory, GDACS, CDC, Google News). Auto-refreshed at most once per day on the first visit. Not official advice.
Live conditions last refreshed: Oct 16, 2026 04:10 UTC
What should I do now?
- Run a real assessment. Open the calculator for live data (weather, advisory, news) layered onto this baseline.
- Political instability (score 35/100): Avoid demonstrations and political gatherings. Monitor news the morning of travel. Have a flexible departure plan.
- Natural disasters (score 25/100): Check seasonal hazard (hurricane, monsoon, earthquake) for your dates. Identify hotel evacuation routes on arrival.
- Check your country's advisory. The single most authoritative live signal. Linked at the bottom of every real assessment.
Day vs Night Safety in Kaohsiung
Guidance based on our scores and official advice — not a measured score.
Daytime transit and exploration in central areas are generally safe and routine. Standard alertness in crowded transit hubs and tourist plazas is adequate.
After dark, keep to well-illuminated thoroughfares and busy dining/entertainment quarters. Use verified taxis or rideshare apps when returning late.
Safety by Traveler Type in Kaohsiung
Guidance based on our scores and official advice — not a measured score.
No group-specific warning is triggered in Kaohsiung for solo travelers (Crime 18/100 · Transport 22/100), women traveling solo (Crime 18/100), families with children (Health 15/100 · Natural disaster 25/100), older travelers (Health 15/100 · Transport 22/100), business travelers (Digital 20/100 · Money 18/100 · Transport 22/100) and lgbtq+ travelers (Advisory 20/100 · Political 35/100): these scores sit in the low-to-moderate range, so standard precautions apply. Local laws affecting LGBTQ+ travelers and gender-specific incident rates are not captured in our scores; check your government's travel guidance.
Score layers
Safety categories
Source: Grounded open data research & citations
Quick facts
| Hospital access | high |
|---|---|
| Airport risk | low |
| Road safety | medium |
| Public transport | high |
| Tourist scam risk | low |
| Night safety | low |
| Last updated | September 27, 2026 |
Live conditions in Kaohsiung
Real-time data refreshed from public sources — weather and air quality from Open-Meteo, official advisory from the US State Department, disaster alerts from GDACS, health notices from the CDC, news from Google News. For an AI-synthesized briefing tailored to your specific trip, run a personalized assessment.
Official travel advisory
Level 1 · Exercise Normal Precautions
Taiwan - Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions
Read full advisory → · US Department of State
Natural hazard calendar & history
5-Year Hazard Calendar (100 km Radius)
| Hazard | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floods | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — |
| Tropical Cyclones | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | — |
| Earthquakes (M5.5+) | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 6 | — | — | 1 |
Most earthquake events within 100 km of Kaohsiung happened in September (6 of 10 in five years).
Source: GDACS, USGS; five years to October 2026.
Significant Earthquakes (USGS M5.5+ within 150 km)
10 major seismic events recorded within 150 km over the past 5 years.
- Largest: M6.9 on 18 Sep 2022 (122 km away) — USGS details
- Most recent: M5.5 on 25 Aug 2026 (138 km away) — USGS details
For consular advice on women's safety, LGBT+ travel, and local laws, see the Taiwan travel advice & laws.
Check the official entry requirements for your nationality before you travel. See the Taiwan entry requirements.
Health notices
Health Notices for this Destination
-
Level 1 - Global Dengue WATCH · 2026-10-02
Dengue is a year-round risk in many parts of the world, with outbreaks commonly occurring every 2–5 years. Travelers to risk areas should prevent mosquito bites. Country List : Colombia, Vietnam, Maldives, Bolivia, Cambodia, Kenya, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Mar
-
Level 2 - Global Polio ALERT · 2026-09-23
Some international destinations have circulating poliovirus. Before any international travel, make sure you are up to date on your polio vaccines. Country List : Afghanistan, Algeria, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger, Nig
-
Level 1 - Global Measles WATCH · 2025-05-28
Measles cases are rising in many countries around the world. All international travelers should be fully vaccinated against measles with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to CDC's measles vaccination recommendations for international travel. Country List : Afghan
Source: CDC Travelers’ Health · fetched 2026-10-15 19:24:31 UTC
Recent headlines
Recent Headlines · Kaohsiung Taiwan
-
Taiwan Travel-Risk Market Spikes as China Stages Multi-Sea Drills
https://www.thetraveler.org/ · 1d ago
Source: Google News · headlines verbatim, dates from publishers · fetched 2026-10-16 03:21:27 UTC
1991–2020 climate normals
Seasonal risk & best time to visit Kaohsiung
The most weather-stable two-month window for Kaohsiung is December–January, when typical daily temperatures run from about 15°C to 24°C and monthly rain averages 31 mm.
Seasonal planning flags include heavy rain season in May–September; typhoon season in May–November; monsoon in May–September. These are climate patterns, not forecasts.
Climate normals are planning context, not a short-range forecast. Source: Open-Meteo Climate API. Refreshed Sep 18, 2026.
Calculate risk for these travel dates Compare seasonal windows →
Practical safety map
Safety infrastructure nearby in Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung has 10 hospitals, 10 police stations, 3 embassies, 10 pharmacies and 5 fire stations within 7 km of the city center in the latest OpenStreetMap extract.
The interactive map loads when it approaches the viewport.
Facility list (works without JavaScript)
- Hospital: Chiu General Hospital
- Hospital: Kaohsiung Municipal Chinese Medical Hospital
- Hospital: Kaohsiung Municipal Kai-Syuan Psychiatric Hospital
- Hospital: Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital
- Hospital: Yuan's Gernal Hospital
- Hospital: 國軍高雄醫院門診中心
- Hospital: 建新醫院
- Hospital: 正薪醫院
- Hospital: 重仁骨科醫院
- Hospital: 高雄基督教醫院
- Police: Lingya Precinct, Kaohsiung City Police Bureau
- Police: 五福二路派出所
- Police: 五福四路派出所
- Police: 交通警察大隊
- Police: 前金分駐所
- Police: 婦幼警察隊
- Police: 復興路派出所
- Police: 成功路派出所
- Police: 自強路派出所
- Police: 苓雅分局
- Embassy: A.I.T. Kaohsiung Branch
- Embassy: Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association
- Embassy: 馬尼拉經濟文化辦事處高雄分處
- Pharmacy: Hefeng
- Pharmacy: MedFirst
- Pharmacy: Sin Jhong-Hao Pharmacy
- Pharmacy: Tin Tin Drugstore
- Pharmacy: 健智美綜合藥師藥局
- Pharmacy: 南星藥局
- Pharmacy: 宏恩藥局
- Pharmacy: 東京藥局中華店
- Pharmacy: 維康藥局
- Pharmacy: 義和堂中藥房
- Fire station: 前金分隊
- Fire station: 成功分隊
- Fire station: 第一中隊
- Fire station: 高雄港務消防總隊
- Fire station: 高雄港消防局
Map and facility data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Locations can be incomplete or outdated; confirm before relying on them. See this destination’s numbers or browse emergency numbers by country.
Emergency numbers (Taiwan)
| Police | 110 |
|---|---|
| Ambulance | 119 |
| Fire | 119 |
| General | — |
See nearby hospitals, police, pharmacies, embassies, and fire stations on the safety map.
Medical access
| Hospital access | medium |
|---|---|
| Pharmacy access | medium |
| Emergency response | medium |
| English-speaking care | unknown |
| Evacuation complexity | medium |
No specific healthcare details for travelers were provided in the current search results.
Common scam patterns
- Online Investment and Virtual Currency Scams. Scammers induce victims through online investment traps involving virtual currency and online shop operations. Victims are later coerced into paying additional funds under threats of contract breach penalties or legal action. Tip: Never send money or cryptocurrency to online investment schemes promising high returns, and verify any platform claiming legal or contract violations.
Area notes
- Nanzih District. Areas where local police and vigilant residents have intervened in suspicious cash collection and scam drop-offs.
- Qianzhen District. A district noted in recent reports regarding targeted online investment and virtual currency fraud operations.
Nearest embassies & consulates
Find your home country's diplomatic mission in Taiwan for consular support, lost passports, or citizen emergencies:
Run a personalized assessment for Kaohsiung
Get a tailored briefing in ~15 seconds, with live weather, advisories, and recent news.
Calculate my trip riskScore history
| When | Score change | Tier | Reason / source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 13, 2026 | 0 → 0 | unknown | Data update Grounded open data research & citations |
| Sep 27, 2026 | 24 → 27 | low → moderate | Method change (scoring v2) scoring v2 |
Every editorial change to Kaohsiung's composite score is logged here, with the source and reason for the change. Live data overlays (weather, advisories, disaster alerts, news) refresh continuously on their own cadences and are not recorded as score changes — see the Live conditions section above for current overlay state.
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Transparency & Sources
We document the baseline sources, coverage scope, and data inputs for this destination below.
Sources used
- SimpleMaps World Cities (CC BY 4.0): Coordinates, region, population for Kaohsiung
- Travel Risk Calculator score (method v2): Security, crime and scams, health, natural hazards and current alerts for Kaohsiung, from US, UK and Canadian advisories, INFORM, World Bank, UCDP, CDC, GDACS, USGS and OpenStreetMap
- Editorial baseline (Travel Risk Calculator): City-level threat scoring across 9 categories (crime, health, advisory, political, disaster, transport, environmental, digital security, money safety)
Live data overlays on this page refresh asynchronously on the source cadences shown above. Run an assessment to create a trip-specific briefing using your dates and traveler profile.
Baseline scope
- Category scores represent an analytical baseline, updated from official feeds and public records.
Coverage notes
- Transport-hub safety notes (airport, train stations).
Methodology · Full data-source registry · Report a correction
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Disclaimer
Travel Risk Calculator provides estimated travel-threat information for preparation purposes only. It does not replace official government advisories, medical advice, emergency alerts, immigration rules, insurance advice, police guidance, embassy information, or professional security consultation.