Wednesday 22 November 2017

Magnitude 5.5 Earthquake in Chiayi County, Taiwan.

The Taiwan Central Weather Bureau reported a Magnitude 5.5 Earthquake at a depth of 18.5 km in Chiayi County in central Taiwan at about 10.20 pm local time (about 2.20 pm GMT) on Wednesday 22 November 2017. The event was felt across most Taiwan, as well as in the city of Fuzhou in Fujian Province on the Chinese mainland.

The approximate location of the 22 November 2017 Tainan Earthquake. USGS.

Taiwan has a complex tectonic setting, lying on the boundary between the Eurasian and Philippine Plates, with the Eurasian Plate being subducted beneath the Philippine Plate in the South and the Philippine Plate being subducted beneath the Eurasian in the East. Subduction is not a smooth process even in simple settings, with plates typically sticking together as pressure from tectonic expansion elsewhere builds up, then suddenly breaking apart and shifting abruptly, causing Earthquakes.

The motion of the tectonic plates beneath Taiwan. The University of Memphis.

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit organisation Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.

See also...

http://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/magnitude-56-earthquake-beneath.htmlhttp://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/magnitude-57-earthquake-off-southeast.html
http://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/twenty-four-confirmed-deaths-following.htmlhttp://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/at-least-25-dead-following-series-of.html
http://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/airplane-crash-linked-to-typhoon-matmo.htmlhttp://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/magnitude-47-earthquake-in-central.html
Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.