Taiwan sees more natural disasters than most countries, due to its unique geographical position. Fifteen years ago, on September 21, 1999, Taiwan was hit by the second deadliest earthquake in its recorded history. In today’s Taiwan News Encyclopedia, we spend a few moments to recall what happened.
The 921 earthquake, also known as the Jiji earthquake, occurred on September 21, 1999 at close to 2am local time. The epicenter was at the town of Jiji in NantouCounty, central Taiwan. The quake measured 7.6 on the Moment magnitude scale and 7.3 on the Richter scale. At one station, a peak ground motion of 3 meters per second was recorded. Soil liquefaction caused building foundations to settle and water wells to be filled by sand boils. Some sections of land were raised by as much as 7 m. One of the aftershocks on September 26 was a strong earthquake in its own right, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale and causing further damage.
The 921 earthquake was in an unusual location for Taiwan, which experiences the majority of its earthquakes off the eastern coast. In the aftermath, 2,415 people were killed, 11,305 injured, and NT$300 billion (US$10 billion) worth of damage was done.
Rescue groups from around the world joined local relief workers and soldiers in digging out survivors, clearing rubble, restoring essential services and distributing food and other aid to the more than 100,000 people made homeless by the quake.
Initially, Taiwan's diplomatic situation caused a delay in a response from the United Nations, which recognizes the People's Republic of China as having rule over Taiwan; the UN could not act without Beijing’s approval.
The quake had a profound effect on Taiwan’s economy. Commentators have speculated that dissatisfaction with the government's performance in reacting to the quake played a major factor in the 2000 presidential election – the first time a candidate from an opposition party took that office.
In the town of Wufeng in central Taiwan, a ravaged junior high school was converted into the national 921 Earthquake Museum. The tenth anniversary of the earthquake in 2009 was marked by commemorative activities for the victims, the rescuers who aided them, and the reconstruction efforts that followed.