1999 Jiji earthquake
cm/s[3] | |
Casualties | 2,415 dead, 11,305 injured, 29 missing |
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The Chi-Chi earthquake
Rescue groups from around the world joined local relief workers and the Taiwanese military in digging out survivors, clearing rubble, restoring essential services and distributing food and other aid to the more than 100,000 people made homeless by the quake. The disaster, dubbed the "Quake of the Century" by the local media, had a profound effect on the economy of the island and the consciousness of the people, and dissatisfaction with the government's performance in reacting to it was said by some commentators [who?] to be a factor in the unseating of the ruling Kuomintang party in the 2000 presidential election.[citation needed]
Geology
The earthquake struck at 01:47:12.6
At the time of the quake, Taiwan had the most extensive network of sensors and monitoring stations in the world, resulting in "probably the best data set ever collected for an earthquake".
Damage
Damage caused by the earthquake included 2,415 deaths, 29 missing, 11,305 severely wounded, with 51,711 buildings completely destroyed, 53,768 buildings severely damaged, and a total of NT$300 billion (US$10 billion) worth of damage.
Central Taiwan
In Nantou County, towns such as Puli suffered heavy damage, and there were 846 deaths, 153 missing and 1,889 injuries.[21] Due to the relatively remote location of many of the affected settlements, aid from the central government took some time to reach some survivors. About 80 percent of houses in Zhongliao were severely damaged or destroyed.[21]
At least 1,074 deaths and 3,648 injuries were reported in Taichung County, where 3,211 houses were destroyed.[21] The Port of Taichung, one of Taiwan's major commercial harbours, was badly damaged and had to be temporarily closed.[22]
Northern Taiwan
In Taipei City, far from the epicenter of the quake, buildings were shaken, but just one, the 12-story Tunghsing Building , collapsed as a result of the tremor. Eighty-seven people died in the rubble of the building, which was later found to be unsoundly built, with structural pillars and beams stuffed with plastic bottles and newspaper instead of brick and concrete.[23] Blame for the collapse was levelled by survivors at both the construction company which built the high-rise and local government for lax enforcement of building codes and safety standards. Five people were indicted in the wake of the disaster.[23]
Economic damage
The
Causes of building collapse and public reaction
The immediate rescue efforts were still ongoing when public anger began to mount at shoddy construction that many felt was responsible for the high number of casualties. Legal building codes, enforcement of those codes, and the construction companies themselves all came in for criticism. Constructors and architects of modern buildings that collapsed were detained by the authorities, their assets frozen and travel documents seized.
Rescue efforts
Immediately following the earthquake an emergency cabinet meeting was convened to discuss how to tackle the aftermath. The same day the
One of the last people to be rescued was a six-year-old boy pulled alive from the rubble of his collapsed home in Taichung County by a team of South Korean and Japanese search and rescue workers, some 88 hours after the quake.[28] Even later, nearly 130 hours after the earthquake, two brothers emerged alive from the ruins of the Tunghsing Building in Taipei to the astonishment of rescuers. The brothers survived on the water sprayed from fire hoses, rotten fruit, and their own urine.[29]
International response
There was widespread international sympathy for those affected by the earthquake, and over 700 rescue workers from more than 20 countries aided in the immediate aftermath.[30] Initially Taiwan's isolated diplomatic situation caused a delay in a response from the United Nations, which abides by the "One China Policy", and so chose not to act without the approval of the Beijing government because of its geopolitical clout.[31]
- Canada: A 5-member volunteer Search and Rescue team from Abbotsford, British Columbia, under the umbrella of a private company, and supported by the local Taiwanese community, provided Search and Rescue services for 96 hrs.
- General secretary of the Communist party Jiang Zemin sparked hope of an improvement in relations when he expressed the sorrow of mainland Chinese at news of the disaster, and stated that "we are willing to offer any possible assistance to alleviate quake-caused losses."[31] Jiang went on to say that "Compatriots of the two sides are as closely linked as flesh and blood. The catastrophe and agony of our Taiwan compatriots influences the hearts of all Chinese."[32] However, after a few days the Taipei government was accusing Beijing of exploiting the earthquake for political ends and blocking speedy assistance from the international community getting to those in need. A Russian flight carrying search and rescue personnel was refused permission to cross Chinese airspace on its way to Taiwan, and the PRC insisted that any attempts to send aid to Taiwan from other nations needed the blessing of the Beijing government first, slowing the arrival of international help.[33] A few years later according to an interview, the blockade news mentioned above was denied and unheard by Russians.[34]
- France: President Jacques Chirac "addressed a message of sincere sympathy and condolences to all the victims of this catastrophe and their families. France is following the situation closely and is ready to provide the Taiwanese people with the support and emergency aid they may need."[31]
- Chancellor Gerhard Schröder spoke of his "deep compassion to the quake victims and their families".[31]
- Keizo Obuchi offered his condolences on behalf of the Japanese people.[31]
- Slovakia: A 4-member volunteer Search and Rescue team with 3 search dogs was assembled and arrived to Taiwan within 30 hours from the earthquake and provided services for 4 consecutive days. The costs for the team were covered by private individuals and corporate entities from Slovakia. The transport costs were covered by Eva Air and the local presence and accommodation was supported and coordinated by Taiwanese authorities.[35]
- Mexico: The Mexican team of rescue workers was involved in tackling the Tunghsing Building collapse and earned widespread praise for their skill and commitment.[30]
- Russia: A team of 76 rescue workers was first dispatched by the Emergency Situations Ministry to help with the search and rescue efforts.[31]
- Singapore: A medical team of five doctors and 12 combat medics was sent by the Singapore Armed Forces to provide medical support for 11 days.[36]
- South Korea: In addition to the cash grant, the Korea International Search and Rescue Team (Chief Commander Park Chung-wung) was deployed to the affected site for 2 weeks, and during the operation, the team rescued a 6-year-old boy who had lost both parents and his younger sister due to the building collapse caused by the earthquake. The boy had survived for 84 hours without external assistance such as water and food.
- Turkey: Having been hit by a devastating earthquake just the previous month, Turkish NGOs had recent experience in search and rescue operations. A 15-person team from Turkey left for Taiwan within hours of news of the quake being received.[31]
- United Kingdom: Condolences were offered by Elizabeth II, who in a statement said "The Queen was greatly saddened to learn of the terrible earthquake in Taiwan and the consequent tragic loss of life." A relief team of six people from Rapid UK, a disaster rescue group, was dispatched to help search for trapped survivors.[37]
- United States: President Bill Clinton issued a statement, saying that "our thoughts are with all of those who have suffered losses and who may still be in need of assistance", while also pledging aid to assist in disaster recovery. Despite the lack of official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, US authorities liaised directly with their Taiwanese counterparts, and sent an 85-person team to assist in the aftermath.[31]
Clean-up and reconstruction
On 25 September President Lee Teng-hui declared a state of emergency in the affected areas, giving sweeping powers to local authorities to ignore the usual bureaucratic and legal restrictions on measures to bring relief to people and locations most in need. This was the first time emergency powers had been used since the death of former President Chiang Ching-kuo in 1989.[38]
Many charities, corporations, and private individuals contributed to the relief effort and the later reconstruction. Private donations directly to the government-run disaster fund totalled NT$33.9 billion,
Following the election of President Chen Shui-bian in March 2000, the reconstruction policies were continued despite the change in ruling party. Chen said in his inaugural address in May 2000 that "our people experienced an unprecedented catastrophe last year, and the wounds are yet to be healed. The new cabinet feels that restoration cannot be delayed ... Reconstruction has to cover every victim and every earthquake-affected area."[43]
One task that had to be undertaken was the setting of new land ownership boundaries in areas where the landscape had been significantly altered by the quake. The whole island was elongated about 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) in the north–south axis and compressed west–east by the forces unleashed. One solution offered to land issues was to offer landowners an equivalent parcel of government land not located on a fault line.[44]
Aftermath
Following the earthquake, the
Legacy
The quake has become part of the Taiwanese consciousness, and is often referred to simply as 9-21 (九二一; Jiǔ'èryī) after the date it occurred (21 September). Unhappiness with the government's performance in response to the disaster was reflected in a drop in support for vice-president
In
A fault from the earthquake was discovered in Zhushan Township, Nantou County by a professor from National Taiwan University conducting research in the area in November 2002. To preserve the surface rupture, the Chelungpu Fault Preservation Park was established and opened to the public in 2013.[47]
A permanent fault shift in
The tenth anniversary of the earthquake in 2009 was marked by commemorative activities in some of the areas affected. Taipei,
The Taiwan Chelungpu-fault Drilling Project (TCDP),[49] co-led by Taiwanese scholars Kuo-Fong Ma, Yiben Tsai and international collaborators in the US and Japan, drilled research boreholes to investigate the Chelungpu Fault. This led to multiple discoveries about the causes of the earthquake and empirical breakthroughs in seismology, most notably the first measurement of an earthquake slip zone.[50] The drilling project also uncovered that the earthquake was in part caused by the movement of underground water. The team defined such earthquakes as "isotropic event," an earthquake-like event caused by natural hydraulic fracturing.[51] This finding has important implications for fracking operations.[52]
See also
- John Walker, Chi-Chi earthquake benefit concerts
- List of deadly earthquakes since 1900
- List of earthquakes in 1999
- List of earthquakes in Taiwan
- Lists of 20th-century earthquakes
- National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE)
Notes
- ^ Taiwanese: 集集地動 Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chi̍p-chi̍p Tē-tāng; Mandarin: 集集地震; pinyin: Jíjí dìzhèn; Wade–Giles: Chi2-Chi2 Ti4-chên4
- ^ Taiwanese: 九二一大地動; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kiú-jī-it Tōa-tē-tāng; Mandarin: 九二一大地震; Jiǔ-èr-yī dàdìzhèn; '921 earthquake'
References
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- ^ a b "M 7.7 – Taiwan". earthquake.usgs.gov. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ^ "How Fast Can the Ground Really Move?" (PDF). INSTITUTE FOR DEFENSE ANALYSES. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
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Here, we report on the results of studies made on the fault dynamics of the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake (Mw 7.6) through identifications of the changes in the grain-morphology and chemical composition resulting from fault movement.
- ^ Lin Chia-nan (28 March 2019). "Study on crustal changes after 921 quake unveiled". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
The team detailed their findings in a paper titled "Lower-crustal rheology and thermal gradient in the Taiwan orogenic belt illuminated by the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake" which was published in the journal Science Advances.
- ^ "2000 Year In Review; 2002 Year in Review". 1999. pp. 52, 53, 92 – via Internet Archive.
Kao, H., and Chen, W.-P., 2000, The Chi-Chi earthquake sequence: Active out-of-sequeence thrust faulting in Taiwan: Science, 288: 2346-2349
- ^ J. Mori; A. Ando; H. Katao; S. Ohmi. "Chichi, Taiwan Earthquake (Mw 7.7): Report of a Quick Investigation". Research Center for Earthquake Prediction, Disasaster Prevention Researth Institute, Kyoto University. Archived from the original on 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
- ^ a b Edmonds and Goldstein, p.17.
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- ^ "Fierce aftershock raises death toll". Taipei Times. 27 Sep 1999. p. 1. Archived from the original on 17 August 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
- ^ Monastersky, R. (October 2, 1999), Taiwan Quake Floods Scientists with Data, Science News, p. 213[permanent dead link](subscription required)
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- ^ a b c OCHA (24 September 1999). "China - Earthquake OCHA Situation Report No. 6". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ^ Chou, Cybil (22 Sep 1999). "Infrastructure dealt a crippling blow". Taipei Times. p. 2. Archived from the original on 17 August 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
- ^ a b "Taipei government ordered to pay quake victims 13.8 mln US dollars". Relief Web. April 29, 2002. Archived from the original on August 18, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2009.
- ^ "The tragedy unfolds". Taipei Times. 23 Sep 1999. p. 1. Archived from the original on 17 August 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
- ^ "Chip shortage raises computer prices". The Victoria Advocate. October 15, 1999.
- ^ "Building firms under investigation". Taipei Times. 26 Sep 1999. p. 1. Archived from the original on 17 August 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
- ^ Yu Sen-lun (22 Sep 1999). "Rescue workers struggling with shortages as military moves in to disaster areas". Taipei Times. p. 3. Archived from the original on 17 August 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
- ^ "Hoping against the odds". Taipei Times. 25 Sep 1999. p. 1. Archived from the original on 17 August 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
- ^ Chu, Monique (27 Sep 1999). "Tunghsing rescue arouses hope". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 17 August 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
- ^ a b c Chang, Frank (October 1, 1999). "Rescue; Relief aid and search teams pour into Taiwan in quake's aftermath". Taiwan Today.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d e f g h Chen, Lauren (22 Sep 1999). "World leaders express their condolences". Taipei Times. p. 4. Archived from the original on 17 August 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
- ^ "Massive earthquake jolts Taiwan; at least 1,100 killed". CNN. September 21, 1999. Archived from the original on August 17, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2009.
- ^ Lin, Irene (25 Sep 1999). "Taipei accuses China of exploiting quake". Taipei Times. p. 1. Archived from the original on 17 August 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
- ^ Julian Clegg (2009-09-18). "Media myth lives on". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 2012-09-21. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
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- ^ "MINDEF - History - 1999 - The Humanitarian Work of the SAF: The Taiwan Earthquake (Volume 8 Issue 9)". 2005-07-28. Archived from the original on 28 July 2005. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
- ^ "Queen's sympathy for quake victims". BBC. September 22, 1999. Archived from the original on October 26, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2009.
- ^ Chen, Lauren (26 Sep 2009). "President Lee announces emergency decree". Taipei Times. p. 1. Archived from the original on 17 August 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
- ^ Experiences, p.20.
- ^ Experiences, pp.640–704.
- ^ Experiences, p.643.
- ^ Experiences, p.625.
- ^ Experiences, p.24.
- ^ Edmonds and Goldstein, pp.14–15.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-02-27. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Edmonds and Goldstein, p.16.
- ^ "National Museum of Natural Science -> Exhibition -> Permanent Exhibits -> Chelungpu Fault Preservation Park". Nmns.edu.tw. Archived from the original on 2013-12-21. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
- ^ Kao, Y.L. (July 2, 2009). "Cabinet to hold 921 earthquake commemorative activities: official". China Post. Archived from the original on July 6, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2009.
- ^ Project website: https://www.icdp-online.org/projects/world/asia/chelungpu/ Archived 2021-01-16 at the Wayback Machine
- S2CID 4413738. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- S2CID 33508855.
- ^ "Erdbeben durch natürliches Fracking". Wissenschaft Aktuell. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
External links
- National Museum of Natural Science 921 Earthquake Museum of Taiwan Archived 2013-12-02 at the Wayback Machine
- 經典讀誦心經香港群星合唱迴向1999年, 台灣921大地震 on YouTube
- http://blog.roodo.com/loveaction
- The International Seismological Centre has a bibliography and/or authoritative data for this event.
- The Taiwan Chelungpu-fault Drilling Project (TCDP) Archived 2021-01-16 at the Wayback Machine