The 2010 Kaohsiung earthquake, measuring 6.3 , occurred on March 4 at 8:20 a.m. local time. The

epicenter The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Surface damage Before the instrumental pe ...

was located in the mountainous area of

Kaohsiung County Kaohsiung County was a county in southern Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was located in Fongshan City. History Kaohsiung County was established on 6 December 1945 on the territory of Takao Prefecture () shortly after the end of W ...

(now part of

Kaohsiung City Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiu ...

) of the southwestern

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. It was the most powerful earthquake in Kaohsiung since 1900. The earthquake did not cause any deaths, but 96 people were injured.

Tectonic setting

Taiwan lies on the boundary between the

Eurasian Plate The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate that includes most of the continent of Eurasia (a landmass consisting of the traditional continents of Europe and Asia), with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent and ...

and the

Philippine Sea Plate The Philippine Sea Plate or the Philippine Plate is a tectonic plate comprising oceanic lithosphere that lies beneath the Philippine Sea, to the east of the Philippines. Most segments of the Philippines, including northern Luzon, are part of ...

, which are converging at 80 mm per year. The island is the result of uplift caused by the collision between the northern end of the Luzon

Arc ARC may refer to: Business * Aircraft Radio Corporation, a major avionics manufacturer from the 1920s to the '50s * Airlines Reporting Corporation, an airline-owned company that provides ticket distribution, reporting, and settlement services * ...

and the

continental margin A continental margin is the outer edge of continental crust abutting oceanic crust under coastal waters. It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental margin ...

of China.

Damage

Electricity

The earthquake caused the tripping of several

power stations in Taiwan Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may ...

, leading to a loss of 1,860 MW of electricity. Some

transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...

s and substations on the

electrical grid An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. It consists of:Kaplan, S. M. (2009). Smart Grid. Electrical Power ...

caused

power outage A power outage (also called a powercut, a power out, a power failure, a power blackout, a power loss, or a blackout) is the loss of the electrical power network supply to an end user. There are many causes of power failures in an electricit ...

to 545,066 houses on the island. Electricity was fully restored before 11:30 a.m.

Transportation

A bridge which connects Kaohsiung and Pingtung was blocked when it sank after the earthquake. Some

THSR Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) is the high-speed railway of Taiwan consisting of one line that runs approximately along the west coast, from the capital Taipei to the southern city of Kaohsiung. With construction and operations managed by a pri ...

trains were disrupted, and one was de-railed while emergency braking.

Buildings

340 buildings and several schools were damaged by the quake. A religious building and some old structures collapsed.

Factories

A fire, which cost about 100 million

TWD The New Taiwan dollar (code: TWD; symbol: NT$, also abbreviated as NT) is the official currency of Taiwan. The New Taiwan dollar has been the currency of Taiwan since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old dollars ...

, occurred at a factory of the Everest Textile Co., Ltd (宏遠興業) in

Tainan County Tainan County was a county in southern Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was in Sinying City. History Tainan County was established on 7 January 1946 on the territory of Tainan Prefecture () shortly after the end of World War II ...

(now part of

Tainan City Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" for its over 200 years of hist ...

), The quake also caused around 1 billion NTD in losses to several manufacturers in a high-tech industrial park.

Aftershocks

The earthquake was followed by several

aftershock In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in the same area of the main shock, caused as the displaced crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthquakes can have hundreds to thousand ...

s; the largest had a magnitude of 5.7 on the Richter scale on April 25.

Government response

While the government continues to monitor the situation, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense dispatched

troops A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troop Ro ...

Jiasian Jiasian District, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency () is a rural district in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. Located far from the coast, the township is regarded as a gateway to Taiwan's Central Mountain Range. History Qing Dyna ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaohsiung earthquake, 2010 2010 Kaohsiung 2010 earthquakes 2010 in Taiwan 21st century in Kaohsiung 2010 disasters in Taiwan