After a magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit southern California recently, the authorities announced that they are spending over US$40 million (about NT$1.2 billion) on an earthquake early warning (EEW) system, which will not only alert the public but also be used to automatically halt trains and open fire station doors right before a quake actually strikes, according to Reuters.
The system will consist of 1,115 early detection sensors. California Governor Gavin Newsom said that the state has already installed 70 percent of the sensors and hopes to complete the statewide network by mid-2021. The network, similar to the Taiwanese and Japanese systems, is designed to detect seismic “P-waves” unleashed by an earthquake before the ground starts shaking.
Theoretically, the further an area is from the epicenter of a quake, the earlier it will receive a warning before the ground shakes. According to the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering, in the scenario of the 921 Earthquake in 1999, an EEW system would have given Taipei residents 27 seconds prior warning before the quake struck.
Photo: Lin Kuo-hsien, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者林國賢
(Eddy Chang, Taipei Times)
南加州近日發生規模七‧一強震之後,當局宣布正投入超過四千萬美元經費(十二多億台幣),來建立一套「強震即時警報」(EEW)系統。根據路透報導,該系統不但能向民眾示警,還可以讓列車自動停駛並開啟消防隊的大門。
該系統將由一千一百多個即時偵測感應器組成,而加州州長紐森表示,遍及全州的感應器目前已設置約百分之七十,希望能在二○二一年中前完成。加州的感應網就像台灣或日本的一樣,旨在地面開始震動前,先偵測到地震所釋放出的地震波「P波」。
理論上,距離震央越遠的地區,就能在當地開始震動前越早收到警示。國家地震工程研究中心則指出,以台灣一九九九年「九二一大地震」的情況為例,該系統能在台北市天搖地動前,為當地居民爭取到二十七秒預警時間。
(台北時報張聖恩〉
Food shortages have been experienced by people across the world throughout the centuries, but these challenges have driven people to cope, like the Taiwanese, who have found creative culinary uses for all parts of their animals, including blood. Pig’s blood cake, or rice blood cake, consists of sticky rice mixed with animal blood. After being steamed, the cakes are often cut into rectangles and skewered onto bamboo skewers so people can enjoy them while walking. It can also be braised or cooked in soup. 糧食不足是各國多少世紀以來的難題,但面對困境,台灣人學會善加利用牲畜的每個部位,包含血液。豬血糕又稱做米血糕,在糯米中混入豬血後,蒸熟後切成長方形,插上竹籤方便邊走邊吃,還可以滷豬血糕或煮湯。 shortage (n.) 缺少,匱乏 rectangle (n.) 長方形 There are regional variations in how pig’s blood cake is eaten. In northern Taiwan, people
A: The hit Korean drama “Queen of Tears” is so popular. B: What’s it about? A: The story depicts the marriage between a man and the daughter of an extremely rich family. B: What a lucky man he is. A: Well, not necessarily. The leading actor Kim Soo-hyun even cries 40 times in the series, showing that life with the superrich isn’t so easy. A: 熱門韓劇《淚之女王》最近好紅。 B: 劇情是什麼呢? A: 是一個男人和富家千金的婚姻故事唷。 B: 哇他還真幸運! A: 不見得吧,男主角金秀賢在劇中就哭了多達40次,可見豪門生活也不容易。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
US health officials are putting more than US$100 million toward ramping up surveillance of bird flu in cattle and people amid rising concerns that the outbreak has spread more widely than reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will use the funding to detect and track the virus, called H5N1, that’s been spreading in wild birds, poultry and domestic cows, according to a statement Friday last week. Scrutiny of the CDC’s response to health crises has risen after widespread criticism for inadequate early testing for emerging health threats such as COVID
In the heart of Namibia, a country where vast stretches of desert define the landscape, one can find the capital city of Windhoek. Despite being in one of the driest countries in southern Africa, 99 percent of the city’s residents enjoy access to safe drinking water. This is all thanks to pioneering technology that involves processing and recycling sewage water into drinking water. Windhoek’s population increased rapidly in the 1950s, resulting in severe water shortages throughout the city. This disaster prompted the creation of an innovative system. In 1968, the Goreangab Water Reclamation Plant became the world’s first