Taiwan was struck Wednesday by its most powerful earthquake in a quarter of a century.
In this photo released by the National Fire Agency, members of a search and rescue team prepare outside a leaning building in the aftermath of an earthquake in Hualien, eastern Taiwan on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. Taiwan's strongest earthquake in a quarter century rocked the island during the morning rush Wednesday, damaging buildings and creating a tsunami that washed ashore on southern Japanese islands. .
The region’s mountainous landscape can magnify the ground shaking, leading to landslides. Several such landslides occurred on Taiwan’s eastern coast near the epicenter of Wednesday's quake near eastern Hualien County, when falling debris hit tunnels and highways, crushing vehicles and causing several deaths.Wednesday’s earthquake measured 7.2, according to Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring agency, while the U.S. Geological Survey put it at 7.4.
The government continually revises the level of quake resistance required of new and existing buildings — which may increase construction costs — and offers subsidies to residents willing to check their buildings’ quake resistance. “These measures have significantly enhanced Taiwan’s resilience to earthquakes, helping to mitigate the potential for catastrophic damage and loss of life,” Gao said.Taiwan and its surrounding waters have registered about 2,000 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.0 or greater since 1980, and more than 100 earthquakes with a magnitude above 5.5, according to the USGS.
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