Taiwan Situates in Pacific Seismic Belt: Expert
Tainan, Taiwan, April 11th, 2011
Taiwan and Japan share a lot of geological similarity. Like Japan, Taiwan sits on the Pacific seismic belt, a favorable place for tsunami generation. Also, both countries are vulnerable to natural disasters such as earthquake and typhoon.
“Caused by earthquake, volcano or submarine landslide, tsunami can reach 150 meters to 215 meter per second, which is almost as fast as the speed of a jetliner, and it can swallow objects such as human beings, animals and even vehicles along the coast,” said National Cheng Kung University’s President Hwung-Hweng Hwung, a hydraulic expert best known for his research in wave modulation, wave dynamics and sediment transport, in a conference organized by New Taipei City Government and Yu, Chi-Chung Cultural and Educational Foundation on April 11th.
Once the tsunami hits ashore, it will not only cause human and animal casualties and land-based construction damages, but it will also carry a lot of wastes into the sea which will in turn severely damage the marine ecosystem.
According to President Hwung-Hweng Hwung, Taiwan has been hit by six tsunamis in the past, including the tsunami of 1781 in Kaohsiung and the tsunami of 1867 in Keelung. Because the number of occurrence and the measured data are scarce, simulation experiments are necessary to understand the generation, transmission and power of tsunami.
The simulation experiment of tsunami in Taiwan began in as early as 1973, when Taiwan Power Company entrusted the task to Tainan Hydraulics Laboratory and the Department of Hydraulics and Ocean Engineering at National Cheng Kung University. In addition, National Cheng Kung University has also cooperated with Cornell University and Oregon State University in the United States on tsunami simulation.
Reflecting on the latest damages resulted from the strong earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Hwung believed that the research on tsunami simulation can help predict the effects of tsunamis on coastal buildings and contribute to the development of early warning systems.
Taiwan and Japan share a lot of geological similarity. Like Japan, Taiwan sits on the Pacific seismic belt, a favorable place for tsunami generation. Also, both countries are vulnerable to natural disasters such as earthquake and typhoon.
“Caused by earthquake, volcano or submarine landslide, tsunami can reach 150 meters to 215 meter per second, which is almost as fast as the speed of a jetliner, and it can swallow objects such as human beings, animals and even vehicles along the coast,” said National Cheng Kung University’s President Hwung-Hweng Hwung, a hydraulic expert best known for his research in wave modulation, wave dynamics and sediment transport, in a conference organized by New Taipei City Government and Yu, Chi-Chung Cultural and Educational Foundation on April 11th.
Once the tsunami hits ashore, it will not only cause human and animal casualties and land-based construction damages, but it will also carry a lot of wastes into the sea which will in turn severely damage the marine ecosystem.
According to President Hwung-Hweng Hwung, Taiwan has been hit by six tsunamis in the past, including the tsunami of 1781 in Kaohsiung and the tsunami of 1867 in Keelung. Because the number of occurrence and the measured data are scarce, simulation experiments are necessary to understand the generation, transmission and power of tsunami.
The simulation experiment of tsunami in Taiwan began in as early as 1973, when Taiwan Power Company entrusted the task to Tainan Hydraulics Laboratory and the Department of Hydraulics and Ocean Engineering at National Cheng Kung University. In addition, National Cheng Kung University has also cooperated with Cornell University and Oregon State University in the United States on tsunami simulation.
Reflecting on the latest damages resulted from the strong earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Hwung believed that the research on tsunami simulation can help predict the effects of tsunamis on coastal buildings and contribute to the development of early warning systems.
Provider:
新聞中心
Date:
100-04-11
