July Brings Earthquakes and Heat

The "Ox in the Earth" has turned over! In July Chiayi and Nantou, which had long been free of major earthquakes, were rocked by a tremor measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale, reawakening Taiwan residents' fear of earthquakes. At the same time, helped by El Nino, summer temperatures have soared. Nature is giving mankind a demonstration of its astonishing power.

On 17 July, a powerful earthquake shook Chiayi and Nantou Counties, killing five people and injuring 27, some seriously. It also damaged or destroyed over 100 buildings. Losses in the agricultural sector were estimated at over NT$26 million. The tremor was felt throughout Taiwan and in outlying islands, and was followed by some 700 aftershocks over the next three days.

The zone worst affected was in the mountains around Juili Scenic Area, where falling rocks claimed several lives and roads to the outside were cut. At the Rey Lee Resort Hotel, within the scenic area, many guests were injured by a collapsing outdoor shelter and falls of earth and rock. Some mountain villages were not found to have been cut off until three to five days after the quake, by which time they had almost run out of food. The main line of the Alishan forest railway was severely damaged, and is expected to be closed for repairs for three months. About 1000 tourists were marooned inside Nantou County's Shanlinhsi Recreation Area.

As news of the disaster broke, the National Fire Administration set up an emergency response team, and the Chiayi County Government set up a rescue command center. The Ministry of National Defense and the non-governmental International Association SAR of China both quickly initiated rescue operations. Premier Vincent Siew visited the stricken area and instructed Minister of State Chao Shou-po to convene a report meeting. He also scheduled a cabinet-level disaster review meeting to be held once relief operations are complete.

Associate Professor Shih Jui-chuan of National Chung Cheng University's Institute of Seismology commented that it had been over 30 years since the 1964 Paihe earthquake, which measured 6.5 on the Richter scale. Seismic energy had been building up over a long period, and had not been fully released by this earthquake; a larger quake was possible in the future. Staff from Academia Sinica's Institute of Earth Sciences have placed sensors around the tremor's epicenter to record aftershocks. Meanwhile the Council of Agriculture warned the public that the typhoon season had already arrived in Taiwan, and that the earthquakes would have loosened soil and rocks; heavy rainfall could lead to serious landslides, and people living in or near mountain areas should take precautions.

The earthquake also came as a wake-up call. The planned construction of a reservoir at Juifeng to supply water to nearby industry and homes is now facing even greater opposition from local residents. It emerged that the Rey Lee Resort Hotel, which suffered severe structural damage in the quake, is actually an illegal structure, and its business license was revoked long ago. However, the owner had continued operating the hotel, leading to many guests being injured by earth and rock falls set off by the quake. Although hotel chairman Lin Shih-jung has already stated that under the present circumstances he has no choice but to close down the hotel, the incident has drawn attention to the illegal use of mountain slope land and to the issue of safety in the tourism industry. This in turn has raised concerns over the proposed construction of a hotel at Matsao in Yangmingshan National Park, since the intended site also lies on a seismic fault line. Interior minister Huang Chu-wen has directed the Construction and Planning Administration to conduct a comprehensive review of slope land development.

As well as the need to improve earthquake protection on slope lands, Wu Hsiao-san, a senior member of a US environmental science organization, pointed out that Taiwan has many elevated highways, mass rapid transport systems and other public works structures, for which seismic data need to be taken into consideration. For example, the route of the planned high-speed rail system passes through 33 seismic fault zones. Liao Ching-lung, director-general of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications' Bureau of Taiwan High-Speed Rail, said that BOTHSR has specified that the system's structures must be capable of withstanding an earthquake of a magnitude expected to occur only once every 950 years, so the public has no cause for concern.

On the same day as the Chiayi tremor, an earthquake struck Papua New Guinea, north of Australia, causing tidal waves which swept away several villages. People cannot help linking the succession of natural disasters with the unusually high temperatures being experienced around the globe. El Ni隳 has been the causing unusual temperatures around the world, with temperatures of up to 42_C in the western United States. To date, 86 counties in Texas have been declared disaster areas due to severe drought.

Based on an analysis of statistical data, the ROC's Central Weather Bureau expressed the view that there is no direct connection between the high temperatures and the earthquakes. But since the beginning of July, temperatures in Taiwan have been unusually high. Under the influence of a Pacific high-pressure area, a new all-time record high temperature of 38.7_C has occurred at Keelung. Taiwan Power Company does not rule out that if any of its generators shuts down due to mechanical problems, it may have to respond by immediately restricting electricity supplies.

The high temperature recorded at Keelung really was something very unusual, since it is a coastal city with the moderating effects of a river mouth and sea winds, so that it is not possible for a "heat island" effect to occur there as it can in an urban area such as Taipei. Liao Chung-ming, director of National Taiwan University's Global Change Center, says that various signs indicate that a global heat wave is affecting Taiwan. He suggests that the advanced countries should all set up climate change research, prediction and response centers at national level to reduce public unease over the potential threat of climate change and to alleviate long-term adverse effects. The ROC should also be actively planning its response.

To date there has been no news of any major disaster in Taiwan caused by the heat, but several cases of unconsciousness or even death from heatstroke have been reported, especially among elderly people, whose bodies are less efficient at dissipating excess heat. In response to the weather conditions, many doctors have been warning people to avoid direct exposure to sunshine, and the Central Weather Bureau recently began providing ultraviolet light index forecasts to remind the public to protect themselves against possible sunburn. The forces of nature are unpredictable, but just as with earthquake protection measures, if people can raise their level of alertness and take suitable precautions, harm can be reduced to a minimum.

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The open road: the earthquake hit hardest in the mountains of Chiayi County's Juili Rural Township. Many roads were damaged or blocked by landslides, severely disrupting traffic. (photo by Lin Wen-huang)