Tectonic setting[edit]

Taiwan has a history of many strong earthquakes.[1][4] The island is located within a complex zone
of continental collision between the Philippine Sea Plate and Eurasian Plate. At the location of the
earthquake, these plates converge at a rate of 75 mm per year.

Earthquake[edit]

The earthquake formed the largest of a sequence of events that have affected the area over a period
of days, with 9 foreshocks of M 4.6 and greater, starting on 4 February with an M 4.8 earthquake
and including an M 6.1 event, also on 4 February, within a few kilometres of the 6 February
event.[1] The 6 February earthquake was a result of oblique-slip faulting.[1]

The earthquake occurred on the second anniversary of the 2016 Taiwan earthquake in Tainan that
had killed 117 people.[5]

The earthquake was followed by a series of aftershocks, with the largest being an M 5.7 event on 7
February at 23:21 local time, 19 km northeast of Hualien city, which reached a maximum intensity of
VI (strong).[6]

Damage[edit]

Tsai Ing-wen, President of the Republic of China (center) inspects a collapsed building in Hualien City.

Many buildings in the city of Hualien were damaged, including four that had partially collapsed or
were damaged severely. The lower floors of the Marshal Hotel collapsed, killing two people. Several
deaths were also reported from the Yun Men Tsui Ti residential building, which was tilted severely
due to the collapse of some of the lower floors, with 7 of its residents still reported missing as of 8
February 6:30 PM local time. Large beams were placed by cranes on one side of the buidling in an
effort to prevent further tilting during the continuing rescue efforts.[7] Authorities stated there were
272 injured and 10 people dead, including four tourists from China.[7] Many homes were left without
water, with bridges and highways remaining closed due to damages by the earthquake.[5]

Hundreds of firefighters and military personnel had stayed on site to support efforts to rescue
people trapped in damaged buildings.[3]

See also[edit]

 List of earthquakes in 2018

 List of earthquakes in Taiwan

Media related to 2018 Hualien earthquake at Wikimedia Commons

References[edit]

1. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h USGS. "M 6.4 - 22km NNE of Hualian, Taiwan".

2. Jump up^ "Taiwan earthquake: Deaths confirmed amid rescue effort". BBC. 2018-02-
06.

3. ^ Jump up to:a b Westcott, Ben; Sun, Yazhou; Liu, Kwang-Yin. "Dozens feared trapped
in Taiwan after earthquake topples buildings". CNN. Retrieved 2018-02-07.

4. Jump up^ Hume, Tim (7 February 2018). "More than 50 people could be trapped
inside this building". VICE News. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
 5. ^ Jump up to:a b "Aftershocks rock Taiwan after deadly quake". BBC News. 2018-02-
07. Retrieved 2018-02-07.

6. Jump up^ USGS (2018-02-07). "M 5.7 - 19km NE of Hualian, Taiwan".

7. ^ Jump up to:a b "One more body found in toppled building in Hualien; death toll -
9". Focus Taiwan. Central News Agency. Retrieved 2018-02-07.

External links[edit]