Taiwan experienced a Richter scale 7 earthquake on Saturday evening (December 27), but fortunately only minor damages were reported. Taipei felt strong tremors, measuring at a magnitude of 4, but the resulting damages were limited. Up to now, major infrastructure is still functioning normally and there have been no reports of significant casualties.
According to the report from Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau, a Richter scale 7.0 earthquake occurred at 11:05 pm local time, with a depth of 72.8 kilometers, epicentered along the northeastern coast of Taiwan, approximately 30 kilometers east of Yilan County.
This is the strongest earthquake Taiwan has encountered since the Hualien earthquake in April 2024 (also known as the 403 Hualien earthquake), which resulted in the collapse of many buildings and claimed the lives of 20 individuals.
In a statement, TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) mentioned that some employees at their TSMC campus in the Hsinchu Science Park in northern Taiwan have been evacuated according to emergency protocols and have since returned to their work stations.
TSMC produces its most advanced chips in southern Taiwan. While its research and development center is also located in Hsinchu, where lower-tech chips are manufactured.
Taiwan Power Company stated that the earthquake did not affect the operations of its hydro, thermal, and nuclear power plants. However, in terms of the power distribution system, the earthquake caused a disruption at the Yilan Dong’ao substation, affecting approximately 3500 households, all of which had power restored by 11:15 pm that night.
Taiwanese authorities declared that major infrastructure, including highways and high-speed rail, continues to operate normally post-quake.
The Central Emergency Operations Center released a statement mentioning that as of 12:45 am local time, no reports of significant casualties or property damages had been received, but there were some isolated incidents reported, such as gas leaks, water supply interruptions, and minor structural damages.