Magnitude 6.4, 6.7 ML Areas affected Southern Taiwan Casualties 96 injuries | Depth 5 kilometres (3 mi) Tsunami no Date 4 March 2010 | |
 | ||
Similar 2016 Taiwan earthquake, 2006 Hengchun earthquakes, 1935 Shinchiku‑Taichū earthquake, 2010 Baja California earthquake, 2010 Mentawai earthqua | ||
The 2010 Kaohsiung earthquakes measuring 6.4, and 6.7 ML occurred on Thursday, March 4 at 8:20 a.m. local time. The epicenter was located in the mountainous area of Kaohsiung County (now part of Kaohsiung City) of the southwestern Taiwan. It was the most powerful earthquake in Kaohsiung since 1900. The earthquake did not cause any deaths, but 96 people were injured.
Contents
Electricity
The earthquake caused the tripping of several power stations in Taiwan, leading to a loss of 1,860 MW of electricity. Some transformers and substations on the electrical grid caused power outage to 545,066 houses on the island. Electricity was fully restored before 11:30 a.m.
Transportation
A bridge which connects Kaohsiung and Pingtung was blocked since it sunk after the quake. Some trains of THSR were disrupted, and one was de-railed while in an emergency braking.
Buildings
340 buildings and several schools were damaged by the quake. A religious building and some old structures collapsed.
Factories
A fire, which cost about 100 million TWD, occurred at a factory of the Everest Textile Co., Ltd (宏遠興業) in Tainan County (now part of Tainan City), The quake also caused around 1 billion NTD in losses to several manufacturers in a high-tech industrial park.
Aftershocks
The earthquake was followed by several aftershocks; the largest had a magnitude of 6.7 on the Richter scale on April 25.
Government response
While the government continues to monitor the situation, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense dispatched troops to Jiaxian.