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.
Weather conditions across Taiwan are expected to remain stable today, but cloudy to rainy skies are expected from tomorrow onward due to increasing moisture in the atmosphere, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). Daytime highs today are expected to hit 25-27°C in western Taiwan and 22-24°C in the eastern counties of Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung, data on the CWA website indicated. After sunset, temperatures could drop to 16-17°C in most parts of Taiwan. For tomorrow, precipitation is likely in northern Taiwan as a cloud system moves in from China. Daytime temperatures are expected to hover around 25°C, the CWA said. Starting Monday, areas
A Taiwanese software developer has created a generative artificial intelligence (AI) model to help people use AI without exposing sensitive data, project head Huang Chung-hsiao (黃崇校) said yesterday. Huang, a 55-year-old coder leading a US-based team, said that concerns over data privacy and security in popular generative AIs such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek motivated him to develop a personal AI assistant named “Mei.” One of the biggest security flaws with cloud-based algorithms is that users are required to hand over personal information to access the service, giving developers the opportunity to mine user data, he said. For this reason, many government agencies and
The National Fire Agency on Thursday said a series of drills simulating a magnitude 8.5 earthquake would be held in September to enhance the government’s emergency response capabilities. Since earthquakes cannot be predicted, only by continuously promoting disaster prevention measures could Taiwan enhance its resilience to earthquakes, agency Director-General Hsiao Huan-chang (蕭煥章) said in a news release. The exercises would be held to mark annual National Disaster Prevention Day on Sept. 21, the aim of which is to test Taiwan’s preparedness and improve its earthquake resilience in case of a major temblor, Hsiao said. As part of those drills, an earthquake alert would
STRICTER ENFORCEMENT: Taipei authorities warned against drunk cycling after a sharp rise in riding under the influence, urging greater public awareness of its illegality Taipei authorities have issued a public warning urging people not to ride bicycles after consuming alcohol, following a sharp rise in riding under the influence (DUI) cases involving bicycles. Five hundred and seven people were charged with DUI last year while riding YouBikes, personal bicycles, or other self-propelled two-wheelers — a fourfold increase from the previous year, data released by the Taipei Police Department’s Traffic Division showed. Of these, 33 cases were considered severe enough to be prosecuted under “offenses against public safety,” the data showed. Under the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), bicycles — including YouBikes and other
RSS