Taiwanese scientists yesterday unveiled an “On-Site Earthquake Early Warning System” that they say could help mitigate quake damage and casualties.
The system was developed by the National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction, the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE), the National Center for High-Performance Computing and the Central Weather Bureau, which began working on the project in 2008.
NCREE researcher Lin Pei-yang (林沛暘) said the system mainly focused on two types of seismic waves, known as P-waves and S-waves.
“P-waves travel between 6km and 7km and arrive first, generally causing less damage [than other wave types],” Lin said. “S-waves travel only 3km or 4km and hit after P-waves, potentially causing greater damage.”
Lin said the opportunity to prevent disasters comes during the short interval between the arrival of P-waves and S-waves.
To test the system, Lin said researchers used data collected during the 921 Earthquake in 1999, which was centered in Jiji (集集), Nantou County. Researchers found that residents in Dali (大里), 43km away in what is now Greater Taichung, would have had about 7 seconds to react to the quake.
People in Hsinchu, which is located about 105km from the epicenter, would have had 17 seconds. People 152km from Jiji, such as those in Taipei, would have 27 seconds to take appropriate measures.
The magnitude 7.6 earthquake killed 2,415 people and injured 11,305, and caused about NT$300 million (US$10 billion) in infrastructure damage.
Lin said the system could be incorporated into other disaster-prevention systems, such as earthquake alarm broadcasts and the automatic train protection system used by the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp.
Lin said the same technology has been used in Japan for 40 years, adding that the system needed more real-time testing before its benefits could be fully assessed.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS