1999 Chichi earthquake

**1999 Chichi earthquake**
Date	September 21, 1999
Magnitude	7.6 Mw / 7.3 Ms
Depth:	8.0 km (5.0 mi)
Epicenter location:	Chichi, Nantou, Taiwan
Countries/; regions affected	Taiwan
Casualties:	2,416 killed; 11,441+ injured

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Earthquake damage in Taichung County

Chichi earthquake (traditional Chinese: 集集大地震; pinyin: jíjí dàdìzhèn), also known as the 921 earthquake (traditional Chinese: 九二一大地震) occurred at 1:47:15.9 CST (17:47:15.9 UTC) on September 21, 1999 in Chichi, Nantou, Taiwan and measured 7.3 on the Richter scale. Its epicentre was at 23.85° N latitude, 120.82° E longitude, 9.2 km (5.7 mi) southwest of the Sun Moon Lake. The depth was 8.0 km (5.0 mi).

[edit] Extent of damage

Damage caused by the earthquake (According to the National Fire Agency, Ministry of the Interior R.O.C):

2,416 deaths (including missing people)
11,443 severely wounded
44,338 houses completely destroyed
41,336 houses severely damaged
NT$300 billion (US$9.2 billion) worth of damage

The earthquake continued to shake Taiwan throughout the night. Anecdotal stories tell of an undestroyed house sliding from one county to another during the quake, forcing the change of the owner's address.

[edit] Chelungpu fault

The epicenter of the earthquake is JIji Township. The 921 Earthquake occurred along the Chelungpu Fault in the western part of the island of Taiwan. The fault stretches along the foothills of the Central Mountains in Nantou and Taichung counties. Some sections of land near the fault were raised as much as 7 m (23 ft). Near Dongshih, near the northern end of the fault, a 7 m tall waterfall was created by the earthquake. Throughout the middle-western part of the island, bridges were destroyed, cutting off traffic for weeks.

In Wufeng, a village in southern Taichung County, the damage was especially devastating; the village's Guangfu Junior High School lay directly on the fault line and was severely damaged by the quake. Today the junior high school is the site of the National Museum of Natural Science's 921 Earthquake Museum of Taiwan.