There are over 60 km of surface faulting, substantial lateral displacements up to nine meters.
Vertical displacements are large.
Seismically complicated, Taiwan is largely situated in a subduction zone between Phillippine Sea and Eurasian Plates. Although the east coast of the island is considered most seismically active the recent earthquakes occurred in the Central part of the island primarily on the Chelongpu fault. Several large thrust faults extend across the island as indicated in the accompanying map. Taiwan is extensively seismically instrumented and warnings were automatically sent to rescue officials immediately following the first earthquake. Preliminary acceleration maps are drawn.