The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday confirmed that the length of an undersea cable it plans to build off southern Taiwan would be reduced from 800km to 200km due to a funding shortfall caused by inflation, adding that decreasing the project’s scale would cut earthquake and tsunami warning times.
The project, initiated by the state-run meteorology agency in 2020, was to install a 800km-long undersea cable from Pingtung County’s Fangshan Township (枋山) to the Philippines’ Luzon Island to enable the CWA to better observe seismic activities in the Manila Trench.
Historic records show that magnitude 8 earthquakes occur approximately every 200 years in the trench, while the cycle for magnitude 8.5 temblors was about 350 years. The last major quake recorded in the trench was about 400 years ago.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications
Should a large earthquake occur in the trench, it could generate tsunami waves of 10m to 15m in Luzon and about 7m in Taiwan’s Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), based on simulation results, the administration said.
Severe damage would be expected in Taiwan’s southern and southwestern regions as well, it added.
The four-year project, which is to be completed this year, is jointly funded by Taiwan and the Philippines. The funding was previously estimated to top NT$2.6 billion (US$82.13 million), with the cost covering the construction of the 800km-long undersea cable and six submarine earthquake and tsunami observation units along the route.
Once finished, it was expected to provide an early warning of about 10 to 20 seconds after an earthquake occurs to alert the public of secondary seismic waves.
It could also provide people 30 minutes to an hour to prepare for a potential tsunami, the agency said.
However, CWA Administrator Cheng Chia-ping (程家平) told lawmakers in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee that the agency is experiencing a funding shortage for the project due to global inflation, and it has so far failed eight times to recruit a contractor.
Meanwhile, it has downsized the project by reducing the length of the undersea cable to 200km and decreasing the number of submarine observation units to three, Cheng said.
Following the changes, the estimated early warning time after an earthquake would be about 14 seconds, while the warning time for a tsunami would be about 30 minutes, he said.
Because of the delay in recruiting a contractor, the completion date has been postponed to 2028, he added.
The estimated funding of the four-year project has slightly increased to NT$2.7641 billion, although the administration might have to budget NT$4 billion to meet the rising operating costs.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lee Kun-tse (李昆澤) said he was “very dissatisfied” with the changes to the project.
“Do you have any idea how many people could be saved in 10 seconds?” Lee said.
The reduction in the early earthquake warning time could be compensated for through the nation’s disaster prevention system, Cheng said, adding that people usually have more time to respond to tsunamis.
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Kuo-hsien (林國顯) said his ministry would re-evaluate the project and try to find additional funding for it.
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS