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.
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