Taiwan Earthquake: Taiwan was hit by a 6.8 magnitude Earthquake on September 18, 2022, further derailing the train carriages, trapping hundreds of people on the mountain roads, and causing a convenience store to collapse. According to the US Geological Survey, Taiwan Earthquake was measured at a magnitude of 7.2 and at a depth of 10 km (six miles).
Taiwan has a long history of earthquakes causing severe damage over the years. The island is in a seismically active zone, on the Pacific Ring of fire and at the Western edge of the Philippine Sea Plate. The list of Earthquakes in Taiwan covers those that occurred between the years 1736 to 2022.
A strong quake shook much of Taiwan on Sunday, toppling a three-story building and temporarily trapping four people inside.
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 19, 2022
The magnitude 6.8 quake was the largest of dozens that have hit Taiwan's southeastern coast since Saturday night, when a 6.4 quake struck the area. pic.twitter.com/oEvLVoLiB2
Taiwan Earthquakes History
Taiwan, between the years 1901 and 2000, saw 91 major Earthquakes, of which 48 of them resulted in the loss of life. The poor construction standards have been blamed in Taiwan for the casualties in a number of major Earthquakes, including the 921 Earthquake and the 1906 Meishan Earthquake.
However, now many modern buildings in Taiwan are being constructed with Earthquake safety in mind, including Taipei 101. It had to cope with a double challenge of being flexible enough to withstand the Earthquakes and yet rigid enough to resist wind shear.
Taiwan’s High-Speed Rail System also incorporates an automatic safety device to safely bring all the trains to a stop in case a significant Earthquake is detected.
List of Earthquakes in Taiwan (1736 to 2022)
| Date | Areas | Mag. | Deaths | Injuries | Houses destroyed / notes | |
| 1736-01-30 | Tainan | ~6.5 | 372 | 698 | ||
| 1792-08-09 | Yunlin | ~7.1 | 617 | 24,621 | ||
| 1811-03-17 | From Chiayi northwards | ~7.5 | 21 | 41 | ||
| 1815-10-13 | From Chiayi northwards | ~7.7 | 113 | 243 | ||
| 1845-03-04 | Taichung | ~6.0 | 381 | 4220 | ||
| 1848-12-03 | Chiayi | ~7.1 | 1,030 | 13,993 | ||
| 1862-06-07 | Changhua | ~7.0 | over 500 | over 500 | ||
| 1865-11-06 | Taipei | ~6.0 | "many" | |||
| 1867-12-18 | Greater Taipei | ~7.0 | 580 | |||
| 1881-02-18 | Taipei, Hsinchu, Miaoli | ~6.2 | 11 | 210 | ||
| 1882-12-09 | Island-wide | ~7.5 | 10 | 40 | ||
| 1897-03-15 | Yilan, Taipei | 56 | 50 | |||
| 1904-04-24 | Chiayi | 6.1 | 3 | 66 | ||
| 1904-11-06 | Chiayi | 6.1 | 145 | 661 | ||
| 1906-03-17 | Chiayi | 6.8 Ms | 1,258–1,266 | 2,385– 2,476 | 14,218–30,021 | |
| 1906-04-14 | Tainan | 6.6 | 15 | 1,794 | ||
| 1908-01-11 | Hualien | 7.3 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 1909-04-15 | Taipei | 7.3 | 9 | 122 | ||
| 1910-04-12 | Keelung | 8.3 | 60 | 13 | ||
| 1916-08-28 | Central Taiwan | 6.8 | 16 | 614 | ||
| 1916-11-15 | Central Taiwan | 6.2 | 1 | 97 | ||
| 1917-01-05 | Central Taiwan | 6.2 | 54 | 130 | ||
| 1917-01-07 | Central Taiwan | 5.5 | 187 | |||
| 1920-06-05 | Hualien | 8.2 | 8 | 24 | 273 | |
| 1922-09-22 | Hualien | 7.6 | 5 | 14 | ||
| 1922-10-15 | Hualien | 5.9 | 6 | |||
| 1922-12-02 | Hualien | 6.0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1927-08-25 | Tainan | 6.8 Muk | 9–30 | 27–100 | 200–214 | |
| 1930-12-08 | Tainan | 6.3 Mw | 4 | 49 | ||
| 1935-04-21 | Miaoli, Taichung | 7.1 | 3,276 | 17,907 | ||
| 1935-07-17 | Hsinchu, Taichung | 6.2 | 44 | 1,734 | ||
| 1941-12-17 | Chiayi | 7.1 | 360 | 4,520 | ||
| 1943-10-23 | Hualien | 6.2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1943-12-02 | Taitung | 6.8 Mw | 3 | 139 | ||
| 1946-12-05 | Tainan | 6.1 | 74 | 1,954 | ||
| 1951-10-22 | Hualien | 7.3 | 68 | |||
| 1951-11-25 | Hualien | 7.3 | 17 | |||
| 1957-02-24 | Hualien | 7.3 | 11 | 44 | ||
| 1957-10-20 | Hualien | 6.6 | 4 | |||
| 1959-04-27 | Northeast Taiwan | 7.7 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 1959-08-15 | Pingtung | 7.1 | 16 | 1,214 | ||
| 1963-02-13 | Yilan | 7.2 Mw | 3–15 | 3–18 | 6 | |
| 1963-03-04 | Yilan | 6.3 Mw | 1 | |||
| 1964-01-18 | Chiayi, Tainan | 6.5 Mw | 106 | 10,924 | ||
| 1966-03-13 | Hualien | 7.5 Mw | 4 | 24 | ||
| 1967-10-25 | Yilan | 6.8 Mw | 2 | 21 | ||
| 1972-01-25 | Taitung | 7.3 Mw | 1 | 5 | ||
| 1972-04-24 | Hualien | 7.0 Mw | 5 | 50 | ||
| 1978-12-13 | Hualien | 7.0 Mw | 2 | |||
| 1982-01-23 | Yilan, Hualien | 6.5 | 1 | |||
| 1986-05-20 | Hualien | 6.2 Mw | 1 | |||
| 1986-11-15 | Hualien | 7.4 Mw | 15 | 37 | ||
| 1990-12-13 | Hualien | 6.7 Mw | 2 | 3 | ||
| 1994-06-05 | Yilan | 6.4 Mw | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1994-09-16 | Taiwan Strait | 6.8 Mw | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1995-02-23 | Hualien | 6.2 Mw | 2 | |||
| 1995-06-25 | Yilan | 6.0 Mw | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1998-07-17 | Nantou | 6.2 | 5 | |||
| 1999-09-21 | Island-wide | 7.7 Mw | 2,415 | 51,711 | ||
| 2000-05-17 | Nantou | 5.3 | 3 | |||
| 2000-06-11 | Nantou | 6.4 Mw | 2 | |||
| 2002-03-31 | Hualien, Taipei | 7.1 Mw | 7 | 6 | ||
| 2002-05-15 | Yilan, Hualien | 6.2 Mw | 1 | |||
| 2004-05-01 | Hualien | 5.8 | 2 | |||
| 2004-10-15 | Taipei, Su-ao | 6.7 Mw | ||||
| 2006-12-26 | Pingtung | 7.1 Mw | 2 | 3 | ||
| 2006-12-26 | Pingtung | 6.9 Mw | 2 | 3 | ||
| 2009-12-19 | Hualien | 6.4 Mw | 6 | |||
| 2010-03-04 | Kaohsiung | 6.3 Mw | 96 | |||
| 2012-02-26 | Pingtung | 6.4 | 0 | |||
| 2013-03-27 | Island-wide | 5.9 Mw | 1 | 97 | ||
| 2013-06-02 | Island-wide | 6.2 Mw | 5 | 18 | ||
| 2013-10-31 | Hualien | 6.3 Mw | 0 | |||
| 2015-04-20 | Yilan | 6.4 Mw | 1 | |||
| 2016-02-06 | Tainan, Kaohsiung | 6.4 Mw | 117 | 550 | 9 | |
| 2017-02-10 | Tainan, Taipei | 5.3 Mw | 4 | Power outages | ||
| 2018-02-04 | Hualien | 6.1 Mw | ||||
| 2018-02-06 | Hualien | 6.4 Mw | 17 | 277 | Some buildings collapsed | |
| 2019-04-18 | Hualien | 6.1 Mw | 1 | 16 | ||
| 2019-08-07 | Yilan | 5.8 Mw | 1 | |||
| 2021-07-13 | Hualien | 5.2 Mw | Minor damage | |||
| 2021-10-24 | Yilan | 6.2 Mw | 1 | |||
| 2022-01-03 | Hualien | 6.2 Mw | Some buildings were damaged. |
| ||
| 2022-03-22 | Taitung | 6.7 Mw | 1 | Power outages / Bridge collapsed | ||
| 2022-09-18 | Taitung | 6.9 Mw | 1 | 87 | |
What is the Pacific Ring of Fire?
The Pacific Ring of Fire is a region that is around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions, as well as earthquakes, occur. It is a horseshoe-shaped belt that is about 40,000 km long and up to 500 km wide.
The Pacific Ring of Fire includes the Pacific Coasts of North America, South America, and Kamchatka as well as some islands in the Western Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Ring of Fire is a direct result of plate tectonics; particularly the collision, movement, and destruction of lithospheric plates that are under and around the Pacific Ocean.
What is Montreal Protocol and how is it helping in healing Ozone layer?
-1757488421206.jpg)
Comments
All Comments (0)
Join the conversation