2006 Hengchun earthquakes
The 2006 Hengchun earthquake happened on Tuesday December 26, 2006 at 12:25 UTC (20:25 local time) near Taiwan. On the surface the center of the earthquake was about 22.8 km west southwest of Hengchun, Pingtung County, Taiwan. The center of the earthquake underground was 21.9 km deep in the Luzon Strait ().
Reports of the strength of the quake do not all agree. Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau reported 7.0 ML The United States Geological Survey estimated the quake to be 7.1 Mw The Hong Kong Observatory and the Japan Meteorological Agency said 7.2 Mw. Taiwan's Central News Agency reported that it was the strongest earthquake to hit Hengchun in one hundred years. The earthquake hurt and killed many people and damaged many buildings. It also damaged several undersea cables. The broken cables were a problem for telecommunication services in parts of Asia.
The date of the earthquake was unusual. The earthquake happened exactly two years after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake that caused terrible damage to the coastal communities across Southeast and South Asia. It was also exactly three years after the 2003 earthquake that almost destroyed the southern Iranian city of Bam.
Tsunami warning
Taiwan
This earthquake was the first time Taiwan detected a tsunami. The water level changed only 25 cm and did not damage anything.
Warning from agencies in other areas
An early tsunami warning came from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). They reported that the earthquake caused a 1-meter tsunami. It was moving towards the east coast of the Philippines. The Hong Kong Observatory also reported a tsunami that would probably not affect Hong Kong.
Related pages
List of earthquakes
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
References
Other websites
US Geological Survey (USGS) earthquake report
Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau earthquake report
Central Weather Bureau of Taiwan The CWB maintains an up-to-date record of earthquakes and their aftershocks.
Reuters article
BBC NEWS article
CNN article
International Herald Tribune article
Singapore's Channel NewsAsia report on 28 December 2006
2006 in Asia
2000s in Taiwan
Earthquakes in Taiwan
Earthquakes in the 2000s
December 2006 events
2006 disasters