The technological expertise that turned Taiwan into a semiconductor powerhouse appears to have minimized the damage and casualties caused by the worst earthquake in a quarter of a century, according to an academic who worked on the island’s response to such disasters.
The earthquake measured 7.4 magnitude and hit the east coast of Taiwan on Wednesday morning, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 800. The quake affected dozens of buildings in Hualien County and shook buildings in Taipei. The number of victims could still rise — several deaths were reported as of Wednesday afternoon. In 2016, a milder earthquake hit the island and killed more than 100 people, while more than 2,400 died in a 1999 earthquake.
Revised building codes after the 1999 disaster and better technology helped mitigate casualties during Wednesday’s earthquake, which could still have major implications for the global technology supply chain.
Wu Yih-min, professor of geosciences at National Taiwan University and team leader at the National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction, said that in the past three to five years a disaster response system developed by the agency has become more sophisticated, meeting a crucial need in one of the most seismically active parts of the world.
“Taiwan continues to develop these technologies, and we have advantages,” Wu said, adding that it would be more difficult for regions without a strong technology industry.
Wu said the island’s disaster response system scans keywords and photos posted online, allowing the government to quickly mobilize resources.
It can also detect signs of movement in affected areas to track the flow of people, while collecting screenshots from surveillance cameras across Taiwan to assess damage.
This technological prowess has made the island a key player in the global market for laptops, motherboards and networking devices. Crucial chipmakers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corp. they halted operations in some factories and evacuated some personnel.
These chipmakers often deal with seismic activity or typhoons, and TSMC said evacuations followed procedures.
When factories in Taiwan’s science parks were built, companies considered seismic activity in their plans and adopted standard procedures for emergency responses, Lin Minn-tsong, vice minister of Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council, said in a statement.
Similarly, although more than 300,000 homes were left without power after the earthquake, the island’s power company said it restored electricity to more than two-thirds in less than two hours. Just 3,478 homes were still dealing with power outages as of mid-afternoon Wednesday.
The earthquake struck at 7:58 a.m. Taipei time. Soon after, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen announced the formation of an emergency response office and said the army will provide support to the affected areas.
Road and rail links to and around Hualien were severely damaged, with workers continuing to try to rescue residents who were trapped. The earthquake occurred just before the start of a four-day holiday in Taiwan observing Qingming. Typically, tens of thousands of people travel to their hometowns during the period.
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