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Taiwan

Earthquake

Taiwan Earthquake

Taiwan sits on an extremely active tectonic region, near the junction of the Eurasian and Philippine Sea tectonic plates. This region experiences seismicity and rates of crustal motion among the highest in the world. The last century saw several large, damaging earthquakes, including the following notable events:
 

Event

Magnitude

Year

Damaged Buildings

Chi-Chi Earthquake

7.3

1999

52,000

Raino/Chiayi Earthquake

7.2

1941

76,000

Taichung Earthquake

7.1

1935

70,000

Jayi Earthquake

7.1

1906

34,000

Taiwan is home to a dense population and numerous manufacturing operations. The importance of Taiwan’s industrial and commercial sector to the insurance industry was evidenced by business interruption losses of over US$500 million in the Chi-Chi earthquake, representing the bulk of insured losses from the event.

Reflecting extensive research on regional seismicity, geology, and building vulnerability, the RMS® Taiwan Earthquake Model offers the most complete solution for managing earthquake risk to insured portfolios and industrial facilities in Taiwan.

Model Highlights

Seismic sources covering all of Taiwan as well as offshore sources

Model calibration using seismic intensity distributions for events dating back 100 years

Soil, liquefaction, and landslide data at postal code resolution for all of Taiwan

Vulnerability functions accounting for 3 seismic building code zones, 14 building classes, 4 height ranges, and 3 benchmark years when seismic codes were upgraded

Validation using extensive research and data from the 1999 Chi-Chi Earthquake

Geographic Scope

All of Taiwan

Exposure Data Resolution

Data input supported at the following levels of resolution: latitude-longitude, postcode, town, county, CRESTA zone

 

Related Information

Taiwan Earthquake Brochure

Chi-Chi, Taiwan Earthquake Event Report

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