Taiwan Earthquake

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Very strong earthquake hits Taiwan causing minor damage + videos from shaking and damage

Last update: February 26, 2012 at 1:10 pm by By 

Earthquake overview : A M6.1 earthquake struck at 20.4km depth in southern Taiwan in the mountain region. Although well felt, major damage has not occurred and the national fire disaster agency has not released any reports.

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 6.1 (CWB), 5.9 (USGS)
UTC Time : Sunday, February 26, 2012 at 02:34:59 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Sunday, February 26, 2012 at 10:34:59 AM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 22.4km
Geo-location(s) :
34 km (21 miles) WSW of Taitung, Taiwan
54 km (33 miles) E of Kaohsiung, Taiwan
98 km (60 miles) SSE of Chiayi, Taiwan    

Update: The following (bad quality) video shows some of the (minor) damage. As could be expected in very mountainous Taiwan, also many landslides occurred in the epicenter area.

Update: The following video gives a good impression of the shaking in the high rise buildings. The footage is from China Times

Update : Numerous aftershocks have also been felt around magnitude 4-4.5.

Update : Intensity 5 was calculated in Pingtung and Chulu counties. Minor damage has been reported in Pingtung county. The greater metropolitan area of Kaohsiung has a population of nearly three million people.

Update : The Hong Kong Observatory measured the quake at magnitude 6.0, while Taiwan’s Seismology Centre put the magnitude at 6.1.

Update : Services of a high speed railway were stopped for a while.

Update : A Taiwanese TV report shortly after the earthquake struck with some images of studio material swaying + location information

Update : The earthquake happened 37km from Ping-tung. The nearest populated places are: Chin-lun (19km), Chieh-ta-ts’un (9km), K’o-la-p’a-yang (9km), Chia-p’ing (17km), Tai-ma (17km), La-chia (7km), Ch’?-nu (14km). The closest civilian airport is Feng Nin (30km).

A M6.1 earthquake struck at 20.4km depth in southern Taiwan in the mountain region. Although well felt, major damage has not occurred and the national fire disaster agency has not released any reports.

The intensity of the event was calculated to be a 5 on the CWB scale – with the top level being 7. However, none of sixty-four
seismic events with intensity 5 (PGA values are between 80-250 gal) caused casualties and/or major damage from 2000-2009.

for more information and updates, go to:    http://earthquake-report.com/2012/02/26/m6-1-earthquake-hits-taiwan-causing-minor-damage/