LOCATION MAP

MAGNITUDE 6.3 EARTHQUAKE

STRIKES TAIWAN

(7:02 pm, October 31, 2013)

LOCATION MAP

7:02 PM, OCTOBER 31, 2013

• At 7:02 pm, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake

occurred 45 km (28 miles) south-

southwest of the coastal city of

Hualian.

• The shallow depth of 12 km (7.5 mi)

exacerbated the ground shaking.

• Buildings over a wide area, including

Taipei, the capital city, were shaken.

EACH EARTHQUAKE IS AN

OPPORTUNITY TO ADD TO

THE “GLOBAL BOOK OF

KNOWLEDGE” ON

OCCURRENCES,

CONSEQUENCES, AND

DISASTER RISK

REDUCTION MEASURES

A NOTE ON THE PAST

A magnitude 7.6

earthquake in central

Taiwan in 1999 killed

2,416 people

M 7.6

Shallow depth (about 2 km)

1:47 am

SEPTEMBER 21, 1999

JI JI, TAIWAN EARTHQUAKE

BASED ON REPORTS BY

USGS, EERI, ASCE/TCLEE, MCEER, TAI

WAN AGENCIES, AND OTHERS

• The 1999 Taiwan earthquake

was a subduction zone

earthquake caused by

interaction of the Philippine

plate with the Eurasian plate.

EARTHQUAKE FAULT

• The quake was generated by

slip on the Chelongpu fault.

PHYSICAL EFFECTS: GROUND

SHAKING

• Strong motion records showed that

ground shaking was characterized by

long-period energy related to the

magnitude and local site conditions.

• It was several times greater than the

level prescribed in the building code.

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS•

•

• 44,338 buildings collapsed, and an

additional 41,336 houses and

buildings were severely damaged.

• Twenty 10- to 20-story residential

buildings either collapsed or

experienced significant

damage, suggesting frequency-

dependent site amplification.

• Strong ground shaking from the

main shock and its large

aftershocks caused the collapse

of a few mid-rise buildings in

Taipei, the capital, which is located

about 140 km north of the

epicenter in a deep alluvial basin.

• Strong ground shaking, ground

failure, and surface fault rupture

caused power outages and

severe lifeline damage.

• Some examples of lifeline damage

had not been observed in other

earthquakes..

• The loss of power had wide

ranging effects, including

disruption of Taiwan’s semi-

conductor fabrication

facilities.

• The regional compression caused

thrust faulting.

• Over 60 km of surface faulting with

lateral and vertical displacements

reaching 9 m and 5

m, respectively, occurred in the

center of the Island.

• Most of the bridges that

suffered significant damage

were located in the area

bounded by two thrust faults

that ruptured the surface.

• Liquefaction caused damage in a

residential neighborhood of Yuanlin

located in Changhua County.

•Extensive liquefaction-induced

damage was also observed in parts

of Taichung Harbor.

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

• The death toll reached 2,416.

•11,446 were injured.

• Economic losses reached $9.2

billion.

• Short-term global stock market

prices were influenced by impacts on

the semi-conductor industry.