5 videos that show the strength of the earthquake in Taiwan

A strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake left nine people dead and more than 900 injured in Taiwan this Wednesday (3). It is estimated that at least 26 buildings collapsed, more than half of them in the city of Hualien, on the east coast of the island. Around 50 people are missing, according to local authorities.

The earthquake was also felt in cities on the coast of mainland China, including Shanghai. Additionally, a tsunami warning was issued in Japan, but was canceled hours later.

Recorded images show the damage that the earthquake caused. This is the strongest earthquake recorded in Taiwan in the last 25 years. See the records.

Impact on the chip market

Due to the earthquake in Taiwan, TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), the largest manufacturer of semiconductor chips on the planet, paralyzed its activities. In addition to producing the overwhelming majority of chips on the planet, the brand has on its list of customers some technology giants such as Apple, Nvidia, among others.

In fact, the Giz Brasil explained in this post the impact that the earthquake in the Asian country could have on the global chip market.

What causes an earthquake?

The occurrence of earthquakes is directly related to the movement of tectonic plates and, more specifically, their geological faults. In some cases, this fault is not even visible on the surface, occurring many, many kilometers below. However, if the earthquake is of great intensity, the vibrations produced are felt on the surface.

Brazil, due to its geographic location — which is located on a single large tectonic plate — does not record earthquakes of great magnitude. The country is also not located in a region of tectonic plate contact, therefore, it does not have significant seismic activity.

Interactive earthquake map

To illustrate the earthquakes that happen around the world, researchers from the University of California, USA, created this interactive map that shows earthquakes around the Earth in real time. Find out more here!

To access the platform, simply click on the image

The graph allows you to see, for example, the location, date, time and magnitude of earthquakes that occurred up to an hour (red circles), day (purple) or a week before (yellow). Thus, users can select specific points, change the range of data and observe patterns of seismic activity on a global, national, regional and even local scale.