3 more active faults found in Taiwan, raising total to 36

台灣再發現3條活動斷層，總數增至36條

Active faults found in Kaohsiung City, Tainan City, Nantou County


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Amid two major earthquakes on Monday and Tuesday (Jan. 3-4), the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) on Tuesday announced that three more active faults have been discovered in Kaohsiung City, Tainan City, and Nantou County, bringing the total to 36.

The MOEA's Central Geological Survey (CGS) on Tuesday announced that the results of its latest survey revealed the discovery of three active faults. It defines an active fault as one that has shown activity since the late Pleistocene, approximately 100,000 years ago, and shows the potential of being active in the future.

The three faults identified include the 25-kilometer-long Chegualin Fault in Kaohsiung City, which last experienced movement 7,500 years ago. The Kuoxiaoli Fault in Tainan City, is 21 kilometers in length and last moved 12,670 years ago, while Nantou County's Chuxiang Fault is 20 kilometers long and was last displaced 13,500 years ago.

The CGS explained that in addition to these faults experiencing displacement within the past 100,000 years, they have also been added because their length exceeds five kilometers.

According to the CGS, the number of active faults in Taiwan is now 36. The previous survey taken in 2012 listed 33 active faults.

A map it included in the report shows the location and length of each active fault. The faults are color-coded, with faults in red having been active within the past 10,000 years, while those in orange experienced displacement in the past 100,000 years.

The map also shows locations of earthquakes and their estimated size. Smaller circles indicate quakes of at least a magnitude 6, while larger circles represent quakes of magnitude 7 and higher. The CGS said that the map can be used for reference for national land management, reviewing land development, disaster prevention and control, emergency response, and designing buildings to withstand earthquakes.