Taiwan rocked by earthquake

Taiwan hit by an earthquake

First Haiti, then Chile, now Taiwan has felt the force of Mother Nature, after being rocked by a 6.4 magnitude quake that hit about 70 km (43.5 miles) from southern Kaohsiung city.

Taiwan is situated in quite a seismically-unstable area and was struck by a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 that killed more than 2,300 people. Today however, the country appears to be much more fortunate with reports indicating that the quake has merely disrupted power supplies and caused the country's high-speed rail to be disrupted.

The BBC has reported that fires have broken out in some cities, namely a textile factory in the southern city of Tainan, and buildings were seen 'swaying' in the capital but it would appear that by and large Taiwan has had a lucky escape.

Taiwan and natural disasters

Taiwan suffers regular quakes as well as other naturally occurring phenomena. Last August, the town of Jiashian, that was near this quake's epicentre, was hit by a devastating typhoon.

The country was also hit by a 6.4 quake last December, which only saw four minor casualties and the collapse of one building.This time, it appears the country has been as lucky, though temporary housing has reportedly collapse in the Kaohsiung county causing several injuries.

"It felt like the buildings were going to collapse," Chen Pei-chi, a teacher in Shiaolin Elementary School in a village close to the epicentre told AFP news agency.

"I tried to get out, but my legs failed me because I was so frightened. Many children were screaming while they were running out of the classrooms."

The last months have seen a flurry of seismic activity around the globe. The Haiti earthquake saw the deaths of over 70,000 while last week's earthquake in Chile saw 800 people die and a tsunami generated.

There were concerns that a repeat of the 2004 Asian Tsunami could occur sending alarms throughout the Pacific region as well as North America. The tsunami reached across the Pacific, hitting New Zealand and Japan with surges of water a metre or more high about 24 hours after the earthquake, however no fatalities were reported.

Chile's earthquake was reportedly the seventh most powerful on record and the worst disaster to befall Chile in 50 years. In fact, it is believe that the quake may have shifted the Earth’s axis permanently, making days shorter by 1.26 microseconds.

Relevant articles:

Can Haiti benefit from the experience of the Asian tsunami? | Haiti: A logistical nightmare | Asia: Home of the strong economies |

Timon Singh

Timon Singh is a graduate of Liverpool University where he received a degree in Social and Economic History. He has previously worked for BBC Magazines on BBC Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, the publication for the popular genealogy show.

Like this article? Get the RSS feed: