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.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
RSS