2010 Kaohsiung earthquake explained

2010 Kaohsiung earthquakes
Timestamp:2010-03-04 00:18:51
Isc-Event:14351162
Anss-Url:iscgem14351162
Local-Time:08:18:51
Magnitude:6.3
Depth:5km (03miles)[1]
Countries Affected:Southern Taiwan
Casualties:96 injuries

The 2010 Kaohsiung earthquake, measuring 6.3, occurred on March 4 at 8:20 a.m. local time. The epicenter was located in the mountainous area of Kaohsiung County (now part of Kaohsiung City) of the southwestern Taiwan.[2] It was the most powerful earthquake in Kaohsiung since 1900.[3] The earthquake did not cause any deaths, but 96 people were injured.

Tectonic setting

Taiwan lies on the boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate, which are converging at 80 mm per year. The island is the result of uplift caused by the collision between the northern end of the Luzon Arc and the continental margin of China.[4]

Damage

Electricity

The earthquake caused the tripping of several power stations in Taiwan, leading to a loss of 1,860 MW of electricity. Some transformers and substations on the electrical grid caused power outage to 545,066 houses on the island. Electricity was fully restored before 11:30 a.m.[5]

Transportation

A bridge which connects Kaohsiung and Pingtung was blocked when it sank after the earthquake.[6] Some THSR trains were disrupted,[7] and one was de-railed while emergency braking.[8]

Buildings

340 buildings and several schools were damaged by the quake. A religious building and some old structures collapsed.[9]

Factories

A fire, which cost about 100 million TWD (US$ million in), occurred at a factory of the Everest Textile Co., Ltd (宏遠興業) in Tainan County (now part of Tainan City),[10] The quake also caused around 1 billion NTD in losses to several manufacturers in a high-tech industrial park.[11]

Aftershocks

The earthquake was followed by several aftershocks; the largest had a magnitude of 5.7 on the Richter scale on April 25.[12]

Government response

While the government continues to monitor the situation, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense dispatched troops to Jiasian.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Earthquake report. Central Weather Bureau. 2010-03-05. 2010-03-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20090707095830/http://www.cwb.gov.tw/eng/index.htm. 2009-07-07. dead.
  2. News: 甲仙地震 台南多起電梯受困及火警. 張榮祥. 2010-03-04. CNA. 2010-03-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20131211222146/http://www.cna.com.tw/ShowNews/Detail.aspx?pNewsID=201003040027&pType0=aALL&pTypeSel=0#. 2013-12-11. dead.
  3. News: 6.4 quake hits southern Taiwan. 2010-03-05. The China Post. 2010-03-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20100306215738/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2010/03/05/246938/64-quake.htm. 6 March 2010 . live.
  4. Tectonic features of the incipient arc-continent collision zone of Taiwan: Implications for seismicity . Lin A.T. . Yao B. . Hsu S.-K. . Liu C.-S. . Huang S.-Y. . Tectonophysics . 2009 . 479 . 1–2 . 28–42. 10.1016/j.tecto.2008.11.004. 2009Tectp.479...28L . 10.1.1.503.1391.
  5. Web site: Taiwan power company-Taipower Events . Taipower.com.tw . 2014-06-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140517160458/http://www.taipower.com.tw/e_content/content/events/events01-1.aspx?sid=2 . 2014-05-17 . dead .
  6. News: Earthquake injures 64; 545,066 homes suffer blackouts. 2010-03-05. The China Post. 2010-03-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20100307193700/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2010/03/05/246939/Earthquake-injures.htm. 7 March 2010 . live.
  7. News: 6.4-magnitude quake hits southern Taiwan. Christine . Theodorou . Andrew . Lee. 2010-03-03. CNN. 2010-03-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20100305162038/http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/03/03/taiwan.quake/index.html?hpt=T1. 5 March 2010 . live.
  8. News: 甲仙強震 高鐵首度在營運中出軌 . 彭群弼 . BCC . 2010-03-04 . 2010-03-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100307230854/http://news.chinatimes.com/2007Cti/2007Cti-News/2007Cti-News-Content/0%2C4521%2C50104574%2B132010030401802%2C00.html . March 7, 2010 . dead .
  9. News: 楊秋興勘災 探內門紫竹寺. Sina. 2010-03-07. 2010-03-08.
  10. News: Powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake hits southern Taiwan; no tsunami alert issued. 2010-03-04. Associated Press /nydailynews.com. 2010-03-04.
  11. News: 強震衝擊產業 損失逾11億. Apple Daily. 2010-03-04. 2010-03-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20100307033001/http://tw.nextmedia.com/applenews/article/art_id/32339600/IssueID/20100305. 7 March 2010 . live.
  12. News: 高雄甲仙餘震頻傳 最大規模5.7. 張嘉芳. 2010-03-03. Radio Taiwan International. 2010-03-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20110721171828/http://news.rti.org.tw/index_newsContent.aspx?nid=234553. 2011-07-21. dead.

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