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Director Ku Kai-wen of Taiwan Seismology department at the Central Weather Bureau points to Richter Scale graphs after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit Taiwan on Thursday
Firemen put out a blaze at a textile factory in Tainan, Taiwan, on Thursday in the aftermath of a 6.4-magnitude earthquake.
Damage from an early morning earthquake is seen in a home in Kaohsiung county Taiwan, on March 4.
A local Taiwanese resident in Kaohsiung county inspects the damage to his home after an earthquake jolted the island on March 4.
In Chaiyi county, Taiwan, evacuated students sit outside in the playground protecting their heads after a strong earthquake shook Taiwan on Thursday.
A landslide occurs in Jiaxian Township, Taiwan, almost immediately after an earthquake struck the area on Thursday morning.
A man looks at broken statues inside a temple damaged by a quake that hit Shanlin Township, Kaohsiung County, southern Taiwan, Thursday.. An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 shook Taiwan early on Thursday, injuring 11, stopping transport and causing minor damage and fires in the southern half of the island.
Firemen battle a blaze at a textile factory that started shortly after a strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake jolted southern Taiwan, Thursday.
A woman walks inside a temple damaged by an earthquake on Thursday morning in Taiwan.
Smoke rises from a fire at a textile factory, which started shortly after an earthquake hit Tainan, Taiwan, early Thursday. A 6.4-magnitude earthquake shook Taiwan, injuring 11, stopping transport, and causing minor damage and fires in the southern part of the island.
A powerful earthquake that rocked southern Taiwan caused millions of dollars in damage to infrastructure and business operations, officials and companies said Friday.
At least 96 people were injured in the 6.4-magnitude quake which disrupted rail services, toppled farm houses, and momentarily cut off electricity to more than half a million homes.
A fire that broke out soon after the quake at Everest Textile and lasted for nearly a day was estimated to have caused at least 100 million Taiwan dollars (3.1 million US) worth of damage, said the company, located in Tainan county.
The tremor also disrupted operations in Southern Taiwan Science Park, a crucial component in the island's high-tech export industry, as production lines were temporarily shut down for safety evacuation.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corp (UMC), the world's two largest contract chipmakers, both reported a 36-hour production delay in their facilities in Tainan.
"The impact is limited and the insurance company will cover it," said a UMC spokesman. TSMC said it was still assessing the loss.
Taiwan High Speed Rail was forced to suspend services to southern Taiwan on Thursday following a minor derailing during the quake, but it declined to say how much revenue it lost.
The company resumed some services to quake-hit areas on Friday and is expected to return to a full schedule on Monday, a spokeswoman said.
About 99 schools have reported an estimated 40 million Taiwan dollars in quake damage to buildings and classrooms, according to the education ministry.
US-based catastrophe risk modeling firm EQECAT said in a note to clients that it estimated total economic damage from the quake to stay below one billion US dollars, including losses from secondary fires and landslides.
The US Geological Survey said the tremor struck about 70 kilometres (40 miles) from the island's second-largest city Kaohsiung, but was felt as far north as the capital Taipei, several hundred kilometres away.
The quake struck in a sparsely inhabited mountainous area in Jiahsian township in Kaohsiung county, an area still recovering from a massive typhoon that triggered floods and mudslides in August, killing about 700 people.
Taiwan is regularly hit by earthquakes as the island lies near the junction of two tectonic plates.
The 6.7-magnitude earthquake that struck southern Taiwan at 8:18 a.m. Beijing Time on Thursday has left 64 people injured, according to the latest statistics from local fire department.
Those injured have been taken to local hospitals, it said, without identifying them.
A blackout caused by the earthquake affected some 540,500 households. Electricity was restored at 2 p.m..
According to a separate report from education authorities, some 340 school buildings were damaged and classes were suspended in some schools Thursday. The report did not specify on the names of the schools.
The epicenter of the earthquake, at a depth of about 6 km, was 22.9 degrees north and 120.6 degrees east, at the juncture of the southern Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties, the China Earthquake Networks Center(CENC) said.
Xinhua reporters in Taipei felt the quake when it hit and telecommunications went down for a short time after.
An official with Jiasian Township at the epicenter told local media that at least three small landslides were triggered by the quake and cracks were found in houses.
Taiwan media footage showed cave-ins, landslides, cracks in school buildings, and power cuts. Many travelers were temporarily stranded at stations due to the temporary closure of high-speed railways.
Local media in Taiwan said the military was mobilized to help in quake-relief efforts.
The tremor was also felt in the mainland's Fujian Province on the western side of Taiwan Strait.
A man who identified himself as Lin in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian Province, said he was on the seventh floor when he felt a tremor. He said computer panels rattled furiously for a brief moment.
Residents of Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou, all in Fujian, also said they felt an intense tremor when the quake hit.
An expert with Fujian Provincial Seismological Bureau told Xinhua that the earthquake had not caused any major damage in the province.
According to Taiwan's local authorities, the quake registered 6.4 on the Richter scale and its epicenter was at a depth of about 5 km.
Figures posted on the website of China Earthquake Administration (CEA) showed that a 7-magnitude occurred nearby in 1964, leaving 106 people dead and another 229 people seriously injured.
The Chinese mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) expressed sympathy through the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) for Taiwan people affected by the earthquake.
The mainland was deeply concerned about the injured and financial losses in Taiwan and hoped the people affected could resume their normal lives as soon as possible, the ARATS said in a letter to the SEF.
Yang Yi, spokesman with the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, also sent "heartfelt sympathy and solicitude" for the people affected, and hoped they would recover soon and resume their normal lives.
"It's not clear how much damage the earthquake caused, but we can sympathize with those who are affected by it," said Lin Shengzhong, vice president of the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots. "We are ready to initiate donations for them."
Chile, Taiwan, Haiti, Japan - 6-plus earthquakes in the last 48 hours
Chile, Taiwan, Haiti, and Japan all have had 6-plus earthquakes in the last week, with Haiti experiencing a major aftershock after the 7.0 Haiti Earthquake. Whatever is going on, it's now clear to many that the World is experiencing large earthquakes at a greater rate.
The Taiwan Earthquake was centered in Kaohsiung and 3.1 miles below the ground. The quake disrupted train service and sent pedestrians running into the streets.
As of this writing, there's no claim that the Taiwan Earthquake is related to the giant 8.8 Chile Earthquake or for that matter the quakes in Haiti and Japan. But one element of evidence is obvious and that's the sheer timing of all of these great quakes.
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