A project to install undersea cables along Taiwan’s east and south coasts, reducing resulting casualties through the faster detection of earthquakes and tsunami, has been completed, the Central Weather Bureau announced yesterday.
Because Taiwan is at the collision and crushing zone between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate, earthquakes that threaten people’s lives happen frequently, the bureau said.
As 70 percent of earthquakes that are magnitude 6.0 or stronger have a high potential for generating tsunami, planning began in 2007 to lay undersea cables along the east coast, where most of Taiwan’s quakes occur, it said.
Forty-five kilometers of cables were laid off Yilan County’s Toucheng Township (頭城) in November 2011, the bureau said.
By October 2017, the length was extended to 115km, from Toucheng to the southeast coast, with three detection points along the route, the bureau said.
In 2017, additional funding was obtained through the Cabinet’s Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, enabling the length to again be extended, it added.
“By the end of this year, the total length of the undersea cables used to detect earthquakes and tsunamis reached 735km, with nine detection points built along the route,” the bureau said.
Each detection point is equipped with an accelerometer and a tsunami detector, the bureau said.
The deepest section of the cable lies 5,796m below sea level, while the deepest detection point lies 5,554m below sea level, it said.
Although the technology to forecast occurrences of earthquakes or tsunami has yet to be developed, the seismic detection network makes it possible for people to be warned about 10 seconds in advance of possible damage by earthquakes along the nation’s northeast coast, it said.
For tsunami, the system can provide people with an early warning of about 20 to 30 minutes, the bureau added.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS