The Chi-Chi Earthquake September 21st 1999


The Chelungpu fault broke through a running track near Wu Feng

The magnitude 7.5 (Mw) Chi-Chi earthquake struck central Taiwan at 1:47 a.m. The earthquake was caused by movement along the Chelungpu fault. (See map)

The fault was mainly a thrust fault. It broke through the earth's surface along a length of about 60 km. In some places, the ground on one side of the fault had risen by as much as 10 metres compared to the ground on the other side.

The earthquake cause over 2,400 deaths and nearly 11,000 injuries. About 31,500 home were completely destroyed and 25,500 were seriously damaged leaving over 100,000 people homeless.

Shortly after the earthquake, Dr Colin Taylor from the University of Bristol's EERC visited Taiwan.

Here are some of the photographs he took when he was there. (Click on the picture names to get more information and a large picture.)

  1. Shih-Kang Dam
  2. Apartment Block, Tung Shih
  3. School, Chung Liao
  4. School, Wu Feng
  5. The Fault at Feng Yuan
  6. Wusi Bridge

Click on the map to see more detail.

 
 
from Bristol University