UTC time | 1946-12-04 22:46:53 |
---|---|
ISC event | 898682 |
USGS- ANSS | ComCat |
Local date | December 5, 1946 |
Local time | 06:47 |
Magnitude | 6.1 ML |
Depth | 5 km (3.1 mi) |
Epicenter | 23°06′N 120°18′E / 23.1°N 120.3°E |
Areas affected | Taiwan, Republic of China |
Max. intensity | MMI IX (Violent) [1] |
Casualties | 74 dead |
The 1946 Hsinhua earthquake ( Chinese: 1946年新化大地震; pinyin: 1946 nián Xīnhuà dà dìzhèn), also referred to as the 1946 Tainan earthquake ( Chinese: 1946年台南大地震; pinyin: 1946 nián Táinán dà dìzhèn) was a magnitude 6.1 earthquake which hit Tainan County (now part of Tainan City), Taiwan, on 5 December 1946, at 06:47. The quake claimed 74 lives and was the eighth deadliest earthquake in twentieth century Taiwan.
The 6.1 ML earthquake struck at 06:47 CST on Thursday 5 December 1946, as people in the area were waking up and preparing breakfast. The epicentre was in Hsinhua in the centre of Tainan County at a relatively shallow depth of 5 kilometres (3 mi); the rupture responsible was the Hsinhua fault ( Chinese: 新化斷層; pinyin: Xīnhuà duàncéng). Government geologists in Taiwan believe this fault may have been active a number of times during the (current) Holocene era. [2] There was one major aftershock, on December 17, which measured 5.7 on the Richter scale but caused no additional casualties. [3]
According to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau, there were 74 people killed by the quake, with 200 people seriously injured and 274 lightly injured. 1,971 dwellings were completely destroyed, while a further 2,084 dwellings were partially destroyed. [3] Soil liquefaction and sand boils were observed in central Tainan County, and there was widespread damage to railways, roads, farmland, water pipes and bridges. [3] As the disaster came just a year into the new Kuomintang rule in Taiwan, it served as a test for the new government. It was the most serious earthquake in Tainan County in 84 years. [4] [5]