Earthquake Damage and Mitigation in Taiwan 🇹🇼 (2022-09-18)

On September 17 and 18, 2022 two major earthquakes occurred, followed by many aftershocks. Epicenter was at Taitung County in the east of Taiwan. Magnitudes were 6.5 and 6.9 respectively (Richter magnitude scale). Main affected areas were Taitung County, Hualien County (and Pingtung County). The epicenter of Sunday's quake was in Chishang Township at a depth of 7.0 kilometers and 42.7 km north of Taitung County Hall. The tremors could be well felt all over the island though.
The observed damages highlight the challenges that seismic events provide to a country's infrastructure. Buildings, bridges, railways, roads, dams, power lines etc. need to be designed and constructed to withstand those particular dynamic loads of seismic events. Design standards are being adjusted and amended based on previous earthquake events (lessons learned).

► The toppled three-story building in Yuli Township, Hualien County did not collapse like a stack of pancakes but instead, provided cavities for trapped people to survive.
► The collapsed concrete bridges reveal a weak structural member, the piers, which crushed in the lower section.
► Observed roadway damage (buckling, cracking) is generally caused by ground failure, or faulting. Ground failure includes events such as differential settling and loss of soil strength. Roads depend on the strength of the soil below them for support. If the soil below them loses strength or is ripped apart, the roads will follow suit. Faulting occurs when surface faults coincide with the roadway surface, causing it to shift, and potentially buckle.
► The train derailment at Dongli Station, Hualien County, was apparently caused by a collapsed platform roof that interfered with the train.
► Falling objects inside buildings and adjacent to buildings pose dangers to people (search cover).
► In mountainous regions, earthquake triggered rock slides may pose special dangers to the people there (pedestrians as well as motorists).
► Temporary works on construction sites need to be designed for seismic loads as well where applicable.

Thanks go to all those people who captured the events (please use landscape mode on your device in future) and to all the helpers and rescue personnel who help mitigating the aftermath of the earthquake. Detailed inspection for damages of rail and road networks will take some time.

Images and video clips have been used under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act 1976 for reporting purposes. Section 107 of the Copyright Act provides the statutory framework for determining whether something is a fair use and identifies certain types of uses—such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research—as examples of activities that may qualify as fair use.

#earthquake #infrastructure #damage #collapse #failure #bridge #building #seismicity #111086 #111111 #civilengineering #resilence #disaster #taiwan #asia

Chapters:
Intro 00:00
Compiled videos 01:10
Compiled still images with explanations 12:42
Outro 15:47

More related footage and information:
https://youtu.be/qnSh8C40i1s
https://youtu.be/FX8ynvLoidc
https://youtu.be/zFTfjzbZT2Y
https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202209180007

Credits:

Citizen reporters on social media
Central Weather Bureau (CWB)
Central News Agency (CNA)
https://geofon.gfz-potsdam.de/eqinfo/event.php?id=gfz2022shod

Intellect by Yung Logos
YouTube Audio Library
Sinister Cathedral by Asher Fulero
YouTube Audio Library