1906 Meishan earthquake

The 1906 Meishan earthquake (Chinese: 1906年梅山地震; pinyin: 1906 nián Měishān Dìzhèn) was centered on Moe'akhe (Chinese: 梅仔坑; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Môe-á-kheⁿ), Kagi-cho, Japanese Taiwan (modern-day Meishan, Chiayi County, Taiwan) and occurred on March 17. Referred to at the time as the Great Kagi earthquake (Chinese: 嘉義大地震; pinyin: Jiāyì Dà Dìzhèn), it is the third-deadliest earthquake in Taiwan's recorded history, claiming around 1,260 lives. The shock had a surface wave magnitude of 6.8 and a Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent).

1906 Meishan earthquake
UTC time1906-03-16 10:43
ISC event16957889
USGS-ANSSn/a
Local dateMarch 17, 1906 (1906-03-17)
Local time06:43
Magnitude6.8 Ms(Utsu) 
Depth6 km (4 mi)
Epicenter23.55°N 120.45°E / 23.55; 120.45
Areas affectedTaiwan, Empire of Japan
Max. intensityIX (Violent) [1]
Casualties1,258–1,266 dead
2,385– 2,476 injured

Earthquake

The earthquake struck at 06:43 local time on 17 March 1906, at a focal depth of 6 kilometres (4 mi). The event created the Meishan fault, a fault with a length of 25 kilometres (16 mi) stretching through modern-day Chiayi County.[2] Aftershocks continued throughout the day, hampering rescue efforts.[3]

Damage

Reports vary slightly, but according to the official Central Weather Bureau summary, the casualties and damage were as follows:[4]

  • Deaths: 1,258
  • Injuries: 2,385
  • Houses destroyed: 6,769
  • Houses damaged: 14,218
Damage at a Japanese colonial office

Fusakichi Omori, a pioneering seismologist from Japan who arrived shortly after the earthquake believed that the high number of casualties was due to the construction of the local houses. Loosely cemented with mud, the combination of sun-dried mud brick walls and heavy roofing beams was thought to be responsible for many dwellings collapsing, killing or injuring the inhabitants.[5] He also found evidence of soil liquefaction, and stated that the town of Bishō (Meishan) had been completely destroyed by the quake.[5]

Omori's figures give slightly different casualty rates, and very different statistics for building damage:[5]

  • Deaths: 1,266
  • Injuries: 2,476
  • Houses destroyed: 7,284
  • Houses damaged: 30,021

Reaction

The veteran missionary William Campbell wrote:

I was there soon after, and had a profound feeling of sadness on seeing whole streets covered with fallen beams and other debris; on seeing, too, so many traces of the awful suffering on every side. Within Ka-gi city, and a limited area around, 1,216 persons were suddenly thrust out into the eternal world. Not fewer than 2,306 persons were seriously injured, and 13,259 houses laid low. The great mysterious Power then tore the earth into deep, open chasms in several places.[6]

The Japanese colonial authorities in Taihoku (Taipei) sent teams of medical personnel to assist, and Campbell reported that shortly after the earthquake reconstruction efforts were well advanced.[7] At the time some writers suggested a link between the Meishan quake and the great 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which occurred a month later,[8] while some religious groups linked it not only with the San Francisco disaster, but also an earlier earthquake in Cambria, Italy and other natural disasters as a sign of the end-times.[9]

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See also

References
  1. USGS (September 4, 2009), PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog, Version 2008_06.1, United States Geological Survey
  2. 1906年梅山地震 (in Chinese). Central Weather Bureau. Archived from the original on 2009-08-11. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  3. "Earthquakes kill more than 1,200 in Taiwan". History.com. Archived from the original on 2009-08-11. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  4. "Establishment of Disaster Earthquake Catalog on GIS" (PDF). Central Weather Bureau. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-26. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  5. Omori, F. (1907). Preliminary Note of the Formosa Earthquake of March 17, 1906. hdl:2261/15981. OCLC 701979583.
  6. Campbell, William (1915). Sketches from Formosa. p. 82. OL 7051071M.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  7. Campbell (1915), p. 83.
  8. Morris, Charles (2007). The San Francisco Calamity by Earthquake and Fire. BiblioBazaar. p. 137. ISBN 978-1-4264-0154-1.
  9. Gruss, Edmond C. (2001). Jehovah's Witnesses: Their Claims, Doctrinal Changes, and Prophetic Speculation : what Does the Record Show?. Xulon Press. p. 131. ISBN 978-1-931232-30-2.


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