Four days after the biggest earthquake in Taiwan's history, scientists said that people should be not be overly anxious about another major earthquake in the Chianan Plain (
However, scientists cautioned people should be prepared for aftershocks, especially those who live east of the epicenter, 12.5km west of Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) in Nantou County.
"Is that [Tuesday's tremor] the `big one' scientists expected?" people have been asking since Sept. 21. Based on information gathered in a three-day field investigation, the National Science Council (NSC, 國家科學委員會) provided the answer yesterday.
"Science experts conclude that only a low possibility of another big quake following in southern Taiwan exists," said NSC chairman Huang Chen-tai (黃鎮台).
"Some aftershocks, possibly over six on the Richter scale, are expected. We need to warn people, especially those who live in areas east of the epicenter, to be careful about aftershocks," said Tsai Yi-ben (
Scientists are still working out the precise sequence of events that led to the earthquake.
The epicenter lay between the Chelungpu fault (車籠埔斷層) and the Tamaopu-Shuangtung fault (
To evaluate earthquake disasters, officials from the NSC's National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE,
"By simulating the earthquake, we can know immediately which parts of the island could have been most seriously affected. We have provided the disaster rescue center a list of areas that will most need emergency services," said Loh Chin-hsiung (
Meanwhile, the Central Weather Bureau says there is a rumor spreading across the island that there will be aftershocks of even greater magnitude than Tuesday's jolt. The bureau dismisses this idea, and has posted vital information on its World Wide Web site (http://www.cwb.gov.tw) to explain why the rumor is groundless.
Bureau officials said yesterday that they had recorded more than 5,000 aftershocks since the seismic activity started.
"People don't have to be worried by this rumor, the aftershocks are releasing stored-up energy in a gradual manner," said Hsin Tsai-chin (
More worrying, according to officials at the bureau, is an approaching storm. The bureau cautioned those in disaster areas to prepare for possible heavy rain and low temperatures brought on by Tropical Storm Cam (凱姆颱風), which was southwest of Taiwan yesterday evening. Officials said the temperature during the night in mountain areas in central Taiwan might drop to 10°C or lower.
SILENCING CRITICS: In addition to blocking Taiwan, China aimed to prevent rights activists from speaking out against authoritarian states, a Cabinet department said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned transnational repression by Beijing after RightsCon, a major digital human rights conference scheduled to be held in Zambia this week, was abruptly canceled due to Chinese pressure over Taiwanese participation. This year’s RightsCon, the world’s largest conference discussing issues “at the intersection of human rights and technology,” was scheduled to take place from tomorrow to Friday in Lusaka, and expected to draw 2,600 in-person attendees from 150 countries, along with 1,100 online participants. However, organizers were forced to cancel the event due to behind-the-scenes pressure from China, the ministry said, expressing its “strongest condemnation”
DELAYED BUT DETERMINED: The president’s visit highlights Taiwan’s right to international engagement amid regional pressure from China President Willaim Lai (賴清德) yesterday arrived in Eswatini, more than a week after his planned visit to Taiwan’s sole African ally was suspended because of revoked overflight permits. “The visit, originally scheduled for April 22, was postponed due to unforeseen external factors,” Lai wrote on social media. “After several days of careful arrangements by our diplomatic and national security teams, we successfully arrived today.” Lai said he looked forward to further deepening Taiwan-Eswatini relations through closer cooperation in the economy, agriculture, culture and education, as well as advancing the nation’s international partnerships. The president was initially scheduled to arrive in time to celebrate
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) yesterday said the US faced a choice between an “impossible” military operation or a “bad deal” with Tehran, after US President Donald Trump disparaged Iran’s latest peace proposal. Negotiations between the two countries have been deadlocked since a ceasefire came into effect on April 8, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far. Iran’s Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported that Tehran had submitted a 14-point proposal to mediator Pakistan, but Trump was quick to cast doubt on it. “I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but
A group affiliated with indicted Chinese immigrant Xu Chunying (徐春鶯) is to be dissolved for monitoring Chinese immigrants in Taiwan, a source said yesterday. Xu, the secretary-general of the Cross-Strait Marriage and Family Service Alliance, was indicted on March 24 on charges of violating the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法). The alliance “illegally monitored" Chinese immigrants living in Taiwan on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Ministry of the Interior is expected to dissolve the organization in the coming days under provisions of the Civil Associations Act (人民團體法), the source said. Xu, who married a Taiwanese in 1993 and became a Republic
RSS