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...
Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.
