The National Palace Museum experienced an unexpected power outage around 11:22 a.m. Thursday. After less than an hour power was restored with all relics accounted for and in good condition.
Digging from a Taipei City Government sewer project that damaged a transmission line was the cause of the incident, which also affected about 12,000 households in the Shilin District. Power was quickly restored after emergency repairs.
Inside the Palace Museum, the scene was completely dark, with even the main building losing power for about ten minutes. However, backup generators and power sources quickly kicked in, allowing for visitors in the exhibition hall to be quickly evacuated. Exhibition Acting Director Lin Quo-ping (林國平) said staff inspected cultural artifacts in the main hall, and warehouse at the same time as evacuations took place. After all artefacts were accounted for, and the appropriate safety and lighting systems were also checked, the venue was reopened to the public at about 11:46 p.m.