Sunday, June 02, 2013

Quake!

A mountainside slides away....

The CNA reports:
One person was killed, two were critically injured and 17 others suffered less serious injuries in a 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck central Taiwan at 1:43 p.m. Sunday, according to the National Fire Agency.

It is the most powerful earthquake to have hit Taiwan so far this year.

......

The earthquake was centered 30 kilometers east of Nantou County Hall at a depth of 10 km, the Central Weather Bureau said on its website.

The strongest intensity was in Tsaoling, Yunlin County, where it was recorded at 6, according to the bureau.

The temblor was felt in most parts of Taiwan, with Sun Moon Lake in Nantou, Alishan, Tainan and Dadu in Taichung recording an intensity of 5, the bureau's website showed.

In most parts of northern Taiwan, the quake was felt at an intensity of 3, it said.
I was standing at the Tongluo Train Station waiting for the 2:00 train when I thought I felt the ground move. Ok, maybe I've been standing on my left foot too long. I shifted to my right foot and suddenly the whole place was rocking! This one lasted unusually long and I became very worried that someplace in central or eastern Taiwan had been wrecked. I hopped on the train and discovered the train was limited to half its normal speed.... very scary, could have been a lot worse.

The quake punctuated what had been a lovely day. I rolled out of Jhubei on the 118 heading for the coast early in the morning on Sunday.

Ibises search the mud flats of Hsinchu for food.

Despite the gorgeous day, the wind down the coast was brutal.

Wonder what he thought of the quake.

Finally I gave up when I reached Xihu and hopped on the 119, one of Miaoli's innumerable pretty mountain roads.

The 119 rolls gently up to Tongluo and then on to Sanyi through beautiful farming countryside.

Great views off towards the mountains to the east from the 119. Miaoli is Taiwan's great undiscovered gem.
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6 comments:

Alex said...

Our family used to live in Tongluo and that area is really beautiful! It's a shame I don't get to see it much now that we've moved to Miaoli.

http://japan-russia.jimdo.com/ said...

The construction of yhe Nuke 4 should be discussed again.

les said...

It always makes me laugh when they give out the coordinates like this. 3km south of the county government hall indeed. Who, except for the neighbors, knows or cares where the county government is? Government in this country massively overestimates its importance to the public.

And on that note, wasn't it nice of them to change the law on downloads of discretionary funds so that paragon of virtue Yen Chingbiao can be freed?

Tim Maddog said...

Les, giving the location in relation to the Nantou County Hall makes much more sense than what CNN did yesterday:
- - -
The quake … hit 728 km (452 miles) east northeast of Hong Kong.
- - -

That's like describing the location of the Moore, Oklahoma tornados in relation to Pueblo, Colorado — approximately the same distance HK is from the epicenter of yesterday's quake.

Tim Maddog

Mike Fagan said...

@"les"

That's not unique to Taiwan; the attitude of the politizei is the same in every country - signing legislation with cocked eyebrows, like they're playing a bloody John Fusciante guitar solo or something.

You can see something of this same attitude in the term MT occassionally uses to refer to them: the "city fathers".

Paul said...

Some nice pictures Michael - yes, those head winds outside of Hsinchu are terrible - can break your heart - Miaoli looked like a nice place to ride though - I haven't cycled into Miaoli before - but rode along the coast.

Nice pics and glad you were safe from the earthquake.