Taiwan Earthquake: Strong Jolt Triggers Tsunami Warning; What Causes These Giant Waves?

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A6.8 The magnitude earthquake attacked Taiwan on Sunday, triggered at least three buildings to collapse, damage the road, bridge, and thwart train trains in the southeastern region which are rare. According to the island weather bureau, the epicenter was in Taitung Regency and followed an earthquake measuring 6.4 in the same region on Saturday night. There were no victims reported from the two incidents.

The Chinese Central Weather Bureau (CWB) appointed an earthquake 6.8 that hit Taitung as a “main surprise” and an earthquake of 6.4 on Saturday and 70 earthquakes previously recorded as aftershock CNA).

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has urged people to be vigilant because of further aftershocks in the coming hours. “Water and electricity supplies in some areas are also influenced by earthquakes,” he wrote on Facebook. “Disaster assistance work related to running smoothly.”

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake hit Taiwan at 14:44 on Sunday about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Taitung at a depth of 10 kilometers. According to the report, the jolt was reported as the magnitude of 7.2 at first but was later reduced to 6.9.

In the city of Yuli Hualien, the earthquake caused a 7-Eleven-Eleven Store building to collapse. Four people trapped in the building were rescued, the Hualien Fire Department was quoted as saying by AFP. Two other buildings in the city collapsed but there were no people in it. The two bridges nearby collapsed while the other two were damaged, the report said.

Meanwhile, the administration of the Taiwan Railway (TRA) said a train slipped at Dongli Station in Hualien.

While the Japanese Meteorology Agency and the Pacific Tsunami warning center issued a tsunami advice shortly after the earthquake, both of them then renewed their warnings which stated that there was no high wave threat.

What is a tsunami?

The tsunami is a giant wave caused by a large earthquake that occurs near or under the ocean, an underwater volcanic eruption, a landslide for submarines or land landslides where large volumes of debris fall into water.

Earthquake caused a tsunami

According to USGS, large earthquakes between 6.5 and 7.5 usually do not cause destructive tsunamis but changes in small sea leave may be observed around the epicenter. “The tsunami that is able to produce damage or victims rarely occur in this large range but has occurred due to secondary effects such as landslides or downtroots submarines,” he said.

A large earthquake between 7.6 and 7.8 can produce a destructive tsunami, especially near the epicenter. But it is considered rare for the tsunami in this large range to cause damage at a very distant distance.

But the amount of 7.9 and greater caused significant damage, especially if the epicenter was near the coast. For large -earthquakes -9.0 or larger, there is a high possibility of aftershocks with a magnitude of 7.5 or larger causing loss of lives and further property.

Taiwan earthquake

The China Central Weather Bureau (CWB) has said that the 6.4 earthquake in Taiwan on Saturday has now been reclassified as Foreshocks. “Previously there was an example when a large earthquake was then re-appointed as Foreshock after a larger earthquake,” Chen Kuo-Chang said as quoted. He also said that a series of earthquakes during the weekend might be triggered by the Mountain Mistake System Center.

What is a mistake?

Mistakes are fractures or fracture zones between two blocks of earth crust. When an earthquake occurs in one of these mistakes, rocks on one side of the mistake slipped with the others.

Taiwan is located at the limit between the Eurasian plate and the Philippine Sea in the active zone of the seismic is also known as the Pacific Ring. The horseshoe -shaped belt area surrounds the Pacific Ocean where the tectonic plates are intensively active. Geologists have identified several active mistakes on the island, but most of the earthquakes detected in Taiwan were caused by the convergence of the Philippine sea plates and the Eurasian plate to the east of the island.

The China Central Geological Survey (CGS) renews the number of active mistakes in Taiwan until 36 in June after the discovery of three active mistakes in the City of Kaohsiung, Taint City and Nantou Regency.

Between 1901 and 2000, there were 91 major earthquakes in Taiwan where 48 of them resulted in loss of lives, according to the Chinese central weather bureau. In 2013, two earthquakes measured the magnitude of 6.2 and 6.5, named the Nantou Earthquake Series, struck the Central Taiwan. This earthquake series caused the collapse of three buildings, the deaths of four people and several injuries. The most deadly Taiwan ever had an earthquake measuring 7.6 in September 1999 which killed more than 2,400 people.