2018 Hualien earthquake
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.jpg) Tsai Ing-wen, President of the Republic of China (center) inspects a collapsed building in Hualien City. | |
| File:2018 Hualian earthquake PGA ShakeMap.gif Earthquake shock map provided by the Seismological Bureau of Fujian Province, the epicenter with a five-pointed star logo. | |
  2018 Hualien earthquake (Taiwan) | |
| UTC time | ?? |
|---|---|
| Magnitude | 6.4 Mw[1] |
| Depth | 10.6 kilometres (7 mi)[1] |
| Epicenter | 24°10′26″N 121°39′11″E / 24.174°N 121.653°E[1] |
| Type | Oblique-slip |
| Areas affected | Hualien County, Taiwan |
| Max. intensity | VII (very strong)[1] |
| Peak acceleration | 0.42 g |
| Peak velocity | 27.53 cm/s |
| Foreshocks | yes |
| Casualties | 7 dead, 256 injured |
At 23:50 local time on 6 February 2018, an earthquake of magnitude 6.4 on the moment magnitude scale hit Taiwan.[2] The epicenter was on the coastline near Hualien, which was the most severely affected area with a maximum felt intensity of VII (very strong) on the Mercalli intensity scale.[1] At least seven deaths have been reported, with more than 200 injured.[3]
Tectonic setting
Taiwan is located within a complex zone of continental collision between the Philippine Sea Plate and Eurasian Plate. At the location of the earthquake, these plates converge at a rate of 75 mm per year. Taiwan has a history of many strong earthquakes.[1]
Earthquake
The earthquake formed the largest of a sequence of events that have affected the area over a period of days, with 9 foreshocks of M 4.6 and greater, starting on 4 February with an M 4.8 earthquake and including an M 6.1 event, also on 4 February, within a few kilometres of the 6 February event.[1] The 6 February earthquake was a result of oblique-slip faulting.[1]
The earthquake occurred on the second anniversary of the 2016 Taiwan earthquake in Tainan that had killed 117 people.[4]
The earthquake was followed by a series of aftershocks, with the largest being an M 5.7 event on 7 February at 23:21 local time, 19 km northeast of Hualien city, which reached a maximum intensity of VI (strong).[5]
Damage
Many buildings in the city of Hualien were damaged, including four that completely collapsed. Badly damaged buildings included the Marshal Hotel, whose lower floors collapsed and the Yun Men Tsui Ti building which was badly tilted with 143 of its residents still reported missing. Many homes were left without water and bridges and highways were closed.[4] As of 7 February, authorities stated there were 7 people dead, 256 seriously injured, and 88 missing.[3]
Hundreds of firefighters and military personnel supported efforts to rescue people trapped in damaged buildings.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h USGS. "M 6.4 - 22km NNE of Hualian, Taiwan".
- ^ BBC (2018-02-06). "Taiwan earthquake: Deaths confirmed amid rescue effort".
- ^ a b c CNN, Ben Westcott, Yazhou Sun and Liu Kwang-Yin,. "Dozens feared trapped in Taiwan after earthquake topples buildings". CNN. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
{{cite news}}:|last=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Aftershocks rock Taiwan after deadly quake". BBC News. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
- ^ USGS (2018-02-07). "M 5.7 - 19km NE of Hualian, Taiwan".
External links
