2006 Hengchun earthquakes
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| UTC time | ?? |
|---|---|
| Magnitude | 7.2 Mw |
| Areas affected | Physical: Taiwan Communications: Taiwan, Mainland China, Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Japan |
| Casualties | 2 dead; 42 injured |
The 2006 Hengchun earthquake occurred on December 26, 2006 at 12:26 UTC (20:26 local time), with an epicentre off the southwest coast of Taiwan, approximately 22.8 km west southwest of Hengchun, Pingtung County (with an exact epicentre 21.9 km deep in the Luzon Strait, also called the Bashi Channel, (21.89N, 120.56E), which connects the South China Sea with the Philippine Sea.
There are conflicting reports of the magnitude of the quake, with the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau marking it at 6.7, the United States Geological Survey estimating it at 7.1, and the Japan Meteorological Agency putting the magnitude at 7.2. Taiwan's Central News Agency is reporting that it is the strongest earthquake to hit Hengchun in one hundred years. [1]
Tsunami Warning
Early reports indicated that the earthquake triggered a 3.3-foot tsunami, which was detected heading for the east coast of the Philippines, with Basco in its likely path. [2] The warnings were, however, discontinued shortly before 1500 UTC.
This quake took place on the second anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which devastated Southeast and South Asia. That 2004 earthquake registered as a magnitude 9.1, and caused a tsunami with waves reaching as high as 33 feet.
Aftershocks
Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau reported that a 6.4 magnitude aftershock struck near Kaohsiung about nine minutes later. A second aftershock was reported at 20:40 local time which was estimated at magnitude 5.2 and still a third about three hours later that measured 5.5 according to local officials. [3]
The Central Weather Bureau website reports that five aftershocks occurred in the morning of December 27, including a 5.8 magnitude tremor at 01:35 local time and another of 5.9 magnitude at 10:30 [4] local time near the Little Liuchiu island chain.
Damage
News agencies aired reports in southern Taiwan of collapsed houses, building fires, hotel guests being trapped in elevators, and telephone outages due to severed lines. Two people were reported killed and 42 injured. The earthquake was felt all over Taiwan, including the capital city of Taipei, which is 450 kilometers north of Hengchun. [5]
Power was knocked out to a reported 3,000 homes, but service was restored within a few hours. As of the following morning, cleanup was already underway. [6]
Fifteen historical buildings, including a Grade 2 historical site, have been damaged in the historic center of Hengchun. [7]
There were no reports of major damage in southern China or Hong Kong, although the two quakes could be felt there. The two earthquakes could be felt as far as one thousand kilometres away.
Communications
Communications across Asia have been severely disrupted , slowing Internet services and hindering financial transactions, particularly in the currency market because of damage to undersea cables. [8]
China Telecom stated that several international submarine communications cables had been broken down, including: CUCN and SMW3, which was damaged at December 26 2006 UTC +8 20:25 approximately 9.7 km away from landing point in Fangshan, Pingtung County, Taiwan; APCN 2 S3, which was damaged at December 27 2006 UTC +8 02:00 approximately 2100 km away from landing point in Chongming, Shanghai, China; APCN 2 S7, which was damaged at December 27 2006 UTC +8 00:06 approximately 904 km away from landing point in Tanshui, Taipei County, Taiwan; FLAG Europe Asia, the segment between Hong Kong and Shanghai was broken at December 27 2006 UTC +8 04:56; FNAL, the segment between Hong Kong and Pusan was broken at December 26 2006 UTC +8 20:43, severely damaging the communications within the Asia-Pacific region and with the United States and Europe.[9][10]
Chunghwa Telecom stated that an undersea cables off the southern coast had been damaged, interrupting communications (including IDD telephone services and internet services) of Taiwan with China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States.
Telekom Malaysia [11], as well as Singapore's StarHub and SingTel [12] have also reported disruption to some Internet services.
It is expected to take up to 3 weeks to repair the undersea cables.
References
- ^ 2 KILLED IN STRONGEST EARTHQUAKE IN HENGCHUN IN 100 YEARS
- ^ Taiwan starts earthquake clean-up, CNN, 2006-12-26. Retrieved on 2006-12-27
- ^ Keith, Bradsher Earthquake hits Taiwan, International Herald Tribune, 2006-12-26. Retrieved on 2006-12-27
- ^ 百年大震 嘉南、新竹成下個警戒區
- ^ Clean up work begins after Taiwan quake
- ^ Taiwan starts earthquake clean-up
- ^ 恆春古城 城倒15座
- ^ Quakes disrupt Asia communications
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6211451.stm
- ^ http://www.mpinews.com/htm/INews/20061227/gb31210a.htm
- ^ Taiwan earthquake disrupts TM's Internet service
- ^ Earthquake in Taiwan results in slow internet service in Singapore
External links
- US Geological Survey earthquake report
- Taiwan Central Weather Bureau earthquake report
- Taiwan Central Weather Bureau The CWB maintains an up-to-date record of earthquakes and their aftershocks in Chinese.
- International Herald Tribune breaking news article
- Reuters article