The 2013 Nantou earthquake struck central

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

with a

moment magnitude The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mwg, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. was defined in a 1979 paper ...

of 5.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of V (''Moderate'') on March 27 at

local time Local time is the time observed in a specific locality. There is no canonical definition. Originally it was mean solar time, but since the introduction of time zones it is generally the time as determined by the time zone in effect, with daylight s ...

. The

epicenter The epicenter (), epicentre, or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Determination The primary purpose of a ...

was located in mountainous terrain in Ren'ai Township,

Nantou County Nantou is the second largest County (Taiwan), county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country. It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives from the Hoanya people, Hoanya Taiwanese aborigines, Taiwanese ...

, Taiwan, not far from

Sun Moon Lake Sun Moon Lake ( zh, t=, p=Rìyuè tán, poj= ; Thao language, Thao: ''Zintun'') is a lake in Yuchi, Nantou, Yuchi Township, Nantou County, Taiwan. It is the largest body of water in Taiwan. The area around the lake is home to the Thao people, o ...

Damage

News reports indicate that a 72-year-old woman was killed by being crushed by a collapsing wall and 97 people were injured. Most of the injuries were in

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Ce ...

. The earthquake caused two fires and stopped five elevators, trapping people inside. This earthquake could be felt in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

, and

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Cause

Kuo Kai-wen, director of the ROC Central Weather Bureau Seismological Center (地震測報中心) said on 27 March 2013 that a 100-km long

blind fault Blind often refers to: * The state of blindness, being unable to see * A window blind, a covering for a window Blind may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Blind'' (1987 film), a documentary by Frederick Wiseman about the ...

probably exists at Ren-ai Township in

Reactions

Inside Taiwan

ROC President

Ma Ying-jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, t=馬英九; pinyin: ''Mǎ Yīngjiǔ''; ; born 13 July 1950) is a Taiwanese politician, lawyer, and legal scholar who served as the sixth president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. A member of the Kuomintang (KMT ...

visited the Central Emergency Operation Center on 27 March 2013 urging the people to stay alert for any after shock and ready for any emergency situation. ROC Premier

Jiang Yi-huah Jiang Yi-huah (; born 18 November 1960) is a Taiwanese political scientist and politician who served as the Premier of the Republic of China from 2013 to 2014. After graduating from National Taiwan University, Jiang earned his doctorate from ...

initiated a cabinet emergency task force to work with the relevant agencies to respond to the earthquake situation. He also urged the relevant government agencies to reassess the safety standard for any local infrastructure buildings.

Outside Taiwan

*—

ARATS The Arats ( — labourer, folk) are a social ethnic community of Mongolian herdsmen. They reside in Mongolia and China. The Arats' main activity is cattle herding. Before the Revolution of 1921, the Arats composed 92.5% of Mongolia's population a ...

expressed their concern to the earthquake damage and called for continued communication for any new development after the quake. *—Sumio Tarui, representative of Japan's Interchange Association sent his sympathy, expressing his condolences to the deceased and best wishes to the injured.

References