2025 Tainan–Chiayi earthquake

2025 Tainan–Chiayi earthquake
USGS ShakeMap
2025 Tainan–Chiayi earthquake is located in Taiwan
2025 Tainan–Chiayi earthquake
UTC time2025-01-20 16:17:26
ISC event642740310
USGS-ANSSComCat
Local date21 January 2025 (2025-01-21)
Local time00:17:26 TST (UTC+8)
MagnitudeML 6.4
Mw 6.0
Depth16 km (9.9 mi)
Epicenter23°10′05″N 120°32′49″E / 23.168°N 120.547°E / 23.168; 120.547
TypeReverse
Areas affectedTainan, Yunlin, Chiayi, Chiayi City, Kaohsiung and Taitung Counties, Taiwan
Total damageNT$196.88 million (US$6 million)
Max. intensityCWA 6− (MMI VI)
Peak acceleration2,104.96 gal (2.15 g)
Peak velocity75.68 cm/s
LandslidesYes
Aftershocks134+ (as of 30/01/2025)
Strongest: 2 ML 5.7 events on 25 & 26 January
Casualties50 injuries

On 21 January 2025, at 00:17:26 TST (16:17 UTC on 20 January), a ML 6.4 (Mw 6.0) earthquake struck Dongshan District, Tainan City, Taiwan, near the border with Chiayi County. It was caused by reverse faulting and had a depth of 16 kilometres (9.9 miles).[1] It injured 50 people and damaged several thousand buildings across six counties and cities in the southwest of the island, mainly in Tainan. The earthquake was followed by a series of intense aftershocks, which caused additional damage in the most badly-affected areas of the mainshock.

Tectonic setting

Main article: Geography of Taiwan § Geology

Taiwan has a history of strong earthquakes.[2] The island is located within a complex zone of convergence between the Philippine Sea plate and Eurasian plate. At the location of the earthquake, these plates converge at a rate of 75 millimetres (3.0 in) per year. To the south of Taiwan, oceanic crust of the Eurasian plate is subducting beneath the Philippine Sea plate creating an island arc, the Luzon Arc. At Taiwan, the oceanic crust has all been subducted and the arc is colliding with continental crust of the Eurasian plate. To the north of Taiwan, the Philippine Sea plate is in contrast subducting beneath the Eurasian plate, forming the Ryukyu Arc.[3]

Earthquake

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) noted that the earthquake measured a moment magnitude (Mw ) of 6.0,[1] while Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWB) measured it at ML 6.4.[4] The epicenter was located in Dongshan District, Tainan City, near the border with Dapu, Chiayi County, 12 km (7.5 mi) north of Yujing and 38 km (24 mi) northeast of Tainan's city center.[1] It was reportedly the most powerful earthquake to strike the Tainan-Chiayi area since the 1964 Baihe earthquake, and the first large earthquake in the region since 1998.[5]

The CWB's earthquake early warning system issued a warning at 00:17:33.9 local time; 7.9 seconds after the initial detection of seismic waves from the mainshock, with the warning covering the entirety of Taiwan. The CWB then provided the observed seismic intensities of affected towns and counties at 00:20:42, and publicly reported the quake at 00:24:29.[6] The earthquake had a maximum CWA seismic intensity of 6- in Chiayi County, 5- in Tainan and Kaoshiung, and 4 in Yunlin, Taitung, Nantou, Pingtung, Hualien, Changhua, Taichung and Penghu Counties, as well as in Chiayi City.[4] At Dapu, Chiayi, a maximum peak ground acceleration of 2,104.96 gal (2.15 g) was recorded by a CWB station.[7]

By 30 January, 134 aftershocks were recorded by the CWB, including 38 which were felt widely.[8] A Mw 5.1 event struck near Yujing at 02:26 local time,[9] followed by another aftershock measuring ML 5.7[10] (Mw 5.1) on 25 January.[11] The next day, another aftershock, also measuring ML 5.7[12] (Mw 5.2), occurred.[13] Another ML 5.6 (Mw 5.1) event hit the area on 30 January.[14][8]

Impact

Mainshock

The earthquake injured at least 50 people, including 29 in Tainan, 8 in Kaoshiung, 7 in Chiayi City, 4 in Yunlin and 2 in Chiayi County.[15] Power and water outages affected 36,342 households,[6] including 22,074 in Tainan, 6,923 in Kaoshiung and 3,975 in Chiayi,[16] although electricity was quickly restored.[17] In Tainan City, 3,117 homes were affected with varying degrees of damage, including 316 which were badly damaged or destroyed and 745 others with moderate damage; the number of households with moderate or severe damage more than doubled that of the 2016 southern Taiwan earthquake.[18] At least 1,710 homes suffered damage in Nansi, 892 in Yujing[19] and 117 in Dongshan.[20] At least 405 schools were also damaged, nearly all of them in Tainan and Chiayi, resulting in losses of NT$196.88 million (US$6 million).[6] Several homes in the county collapsed completely.[21]

Six people, including a one-month-old baby, were rescued from a collapsed house, while three others stuck in elevators were also rescued. The Zhuwei Bridge in Yujing District along Provincial Highway 3 also suffered damage.[22] A wall collapsed, some roads were badly affected, 130 buildings were seriously damaged and rockfalls occurred in Dapu, Chiayi.[23][24][25] The village of Xixing was cut off due to landslides blocking access roads, leaving 50 residents stranded. In Lucao, the wall of a house fell.[26] The parapet of a house also collapsed in Kaohsiung.[27] A landslide blocked a section of the Southern Cross-Island Highway near Haiduan, Taitung.[6] A fire broke out at a printing factory in Chiayi.[28] TSMC temporarily suspended operations in facilities across central and southern Taiwan and evacuated employees.[29]

Aftershocks

A ML 5.7 aftershock on 25 January caused wall collapses at Dongyuan Junior High School and multiple residential buildings in Dongshan District, were power outages were reported.[10] Rockfalls also reportedly blocked roads in the district.[30] One person was injured after suffering a fall and another had to be rescued in Nansi.[31] A second ML 5.7 aftershock the following day caused a house to collapse in Nansi, damaged 10 houses in Dongshan and resulted in power outages at Yujing.[12] Two high-speed trains were forced to stop in Chiayi and Tainan.[32] On 30 January, a ML 5.6 aftershock caused part of the façade of Tainan's city hall to collapse, damaging two vehicles below.[8]

Aftermath and response

Due to fear of aftershocks, many residents in Nansi slept outside, and over a hundred residents displaced by the earthquake were resettled at a local inn. The Tainan City Government announced that the first wave of earthquake relief funds would be distributed to more than 3,700 residents before Chinese New Year to residents whose homes were severely damaged or destroyed.[33] Following the quake, four shelters in Tainan were opened to 68 victims.[6] Both Premier Cho Jung-tai and President Lai Ching-te visited Tainan and pledged government support.[34]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c ANSS. "M 6.0 - 12 km N of Yujing, Taiwan 2025". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey.
  2. ^ Hume, Tim (7 February 2018). "More than 50 people could be trapped inside this building". VICE News. Archived from the original on 7 February 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  3. ^ Molli G.; Malavieille J. (2010). "Orogenic processes and the Corsica/Apennines geodynamic evolution: insights from Taiwan". International Journal of Earth Sciences. 100 (5): 1207–1224. doi:10.1007/s00531-010-0598-y. S2CID 129517282.
  4. ^ a b "超晃! 嘉義縣大埔鄉00:17「規模6.4地震」" (in Chinese). Taiwan Television. 20 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  5. ^ "嘉義大埔6.4強震 當地61年最大規模 與白河大地震相當" (in Chinese). Environmental Information Center. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e "1月21日嘉義大埔地震應變處置情形" (in Chinese). Executive Yuan. 23 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  7. ^ "第007號 1月21日0時17分 規模 6.4 23.23N 120.57E, i.e. 37.9 km SE of Chiayi County" (in Chinese). Central Weather Administration. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  8. ^ a b c "今嘉義5.6地震屬1/21餘震　氣象署：未來一週須防較大餘震" (in Chinese). NextApple. 30 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  9. ^ ANSS. "M 5.1 - 3 km WSW of Yujing, Taiwan 2025". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey.
  10. ^ a b "東山地震 東原國中圍牆被震垮 部分民宅受損幸無人受傷". Yahoo! News Taiwan. 25 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  11. ^ ANSS. "M 5.1 - 8 km N of Yujing, Taiwan 2025". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey.
  12. ^ a b "今晨7：38台南5.7地震　楠西民宅紅磚牆崩塌". CTS Main Channel. 26 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  13. ^ ANSS. "M 5.2 - 4 km WSW of Yujing, Taiwan 2025". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey.
  14. ^ ANSS. "M 5.1 - 13 km ENE of Yujing, Taiwan 2025". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey.
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  17. ^ "南部地震 高雄市一度6923戶停電已復電" (in Chinese). Central News Agency. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
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  19. ^ "嘉義大埔地震紅單200件 國土署：研提專案改善弱層「軟腳蝦」". Commercial Times (in Chinese). 24 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  20. ^ "台南地震不只红黄单！白单房屋也受损 民代吁纳补助". China Times (in Chinese). 27 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  21. ^ "台湾昨晚突发地震，房屋倒塌，15人受伤！". Bole. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  22. ^ "6.4 magnitude earthquake hits Taiwan, injures 27". Euronews. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  23. ^ "0121嘉义地震害逾130建物受损 拆除最多补助300万元". China Times (in Chinese). 25 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
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  26. ^ "嘉義凌晨6.4地震 大埔鄉西興村道路中斷成孤島約50人受困" (in Chinese). Central News Agency. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  27. ^ "强震余波！高雄民宅女儿墙坍塌 无人宅初判结构无危险". China Times (in Chinese). 26 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
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  31. ^ "晚間連8震！台南東山民眾驚嚇跌倒 各地災情回報一次看". Yahoo! News Taiwan. 26 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
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  33. ^ "年難過！台南楠西、玉井震災房損嚴重 紅黃單已逾千戶". United Daily News (in Chinese). 25 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
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