Today, September 2, 2024, at 4:26 in the morning (local time, 10:26 in Italy) an earthquake with magnitude 5.0 hit the east coast of Taiwan, with epicenter at sea approximately 11 km from the city of Hualien. As confirmed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake recorded a depth of 28.7 km – therefore rather superficial – but, fortunately, they are not recorded no particular damage or casualties. According to initial reports, in fact, a value equal to the fourth degree of the Mercalli scale (MCS) was recorded only in the areas close to the epicenter, corresponding to a slight shaking of the buildings.
From a geological point of view, the presence of even intense earthquakes in this area of the Pacific should not be surprising. In fact, we are located along the so-called “Ring of Fire”, one of the most active areas on the planet from both a seismic and volcanic point of view. Specifically, in correspondence with Taiwan, the subduction of the plate of Sunda below that of the Philippines. This generates an enormous amount of shocks that, in some cases, can even reach high magnitudes, as witnessed, for example, by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake of April 3, 2024.
Given the high seismicity of the area, the local government has equipped itself with very advanced anti-seismic systems, the most famous of which is the sphere placed inside the Taipei 101 skyscraper in the city of the same name. It is an anti-seismic damper, that is, a system whose objective is to swing to counteract the vibrations induced by the earthquake.
To understand in more detail how it works, here is a specific video of the Taipei 101 sphere:
