Chi-Chi earthquake

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The Chi-Chi earthquake (also known as 921 earthquake) occurred on September 21, 1999 in central Taiwan at 1:47 am local time (September 20 17:47 GMT) and measured 7.6 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter was at 23.87° N latitude, 120.75° E longitude, which is in the Ji-Ji Township (Chi-Chi by Wade-Giles romanization) in the Nantou County, about 12.5 km west of the Sun Moon Lake. The depth was 7.0 km.

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

2,415 deaths (including missing people)
1,441 severely wounded
US$9.2 billion worth of damage
44,338 houses completely destroyed
41,336 houses severely damaged

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

External links

Pictures of Damage: [Courtesy of Sinica]
[The Chi-Chi Earthquake in Taiwan]

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