The Central Weather Bureau has announced a modified intensity scale to better reflect the effect earthquakes have on people, structures and the environment, thereby facilitating disaster response efforts by government agencies.
The new earthquake intensity scale, to be introduced on Jan. 1, has 10 levels compared with the current eight-level scale, which has been in effect since 2000, Seismological Center Director Chen Kuo-chang (陳國昌) said.
Intensity measures the amount of shaking at a particular location and should not be confused with magnitude, which measures the size of an earthquake at its source, according to the US Geological Survey’s Web site.
The bureau’s intensity scale is computed based solely on peak ground acceleration and is graded 0 to 7, with 7 being the strongest intensity. In contrast, the new scale is calculated based on a more comprehensive formula that also uses peak ground velocity beginning at intensity 5, the level at which damage to structures is likely to occur.
While intensity 7 is also its highest level, the new scale subdivides 5 into 5-moderate and 5-strong, and 6 into 6-moderate and 6-strong.
“We have kept intensity 7 as the highest level on the new scale so that laws and regulations would not be greatly affected,” Chen said.
The new scale is the result of a study of 1,370 earthquakes from 2009 to last year, he said.
Using the new formula, only 10 (less than 1 percent) of the 1,370 earthquakes studied were considered intensity 5 and above, while 194 (14 percent) of the earthquakes had the same intensity as the old scale, he added.
The new formula filters out earthquakes that are not that strong in terms of intensity, while more effectively correlating areas with higher potential damage to the scale, allowing the government to better respond to the quake, Chen said.
Based on the new formula, intensity 5-moderate earthquakes are characterized by difficulty walking and bricks falling from some structures, while in intensity 5-strong earthquakes, panic is widespread and some brick walls may collapse.
In intensity 6-moderate earthquakes, people have difficulty standing, weaker houses can collapse, cracks can appear in roads and there are likely to be landslides in mountainous areas.
In intensity 6-strong earthquakes, stronger buildings are likely to be damaged.
In intensity 7 earthquakes, people are unable to move at will due to violent shaking, stronger buildings could collapse and railroad tracks become twisted.
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