User:Taiwantaffy/Quakes/1904 Douliu Earthquake

The 1904 Douliu earthquake was a magnitude 6.1 earthquake which struck central Taiwan at 04:25 on November 6, 1904. The quake caused widespread damage and killed 145 people, making it the fifth deadliest earthquake of the twentieth century in Taiwan.

Technical details
At 04:25 of the morning of November 6, 1904, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake centred on the town of Xingang, Jiayi County shook towns in present-day Yunlin, Jiayi, and Tainan Counties. Despite the relatively light magnitude, the shallow depth of the temblor (7km) coupled with the fact that it struck in a populated area meant that casualties were heavier than might be expected.

The earthquake was one of the first major quakes in Taiwan to be monitored using seismographs introduced by the Japanese. This enabled government officials to pinpoint the magnitude, epicentre and hypocentre of the earthquake with more accuracy than ever before.

The quake was felt throughout the island, and Japanese officials recorded sandblasting and soil liquefaction at several sites in the affected area.

Damage
According to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau, casualties and damage were as follows: The worst affected area was Xingang Subprefecture (in present-day Jiayi County), where 85 of the deaths occurred.
 * 145 deaths
 * 50 people seriously injured
 * 107 people less seriously injured
 * 590 dwellings completely destroyed
 * 1,085 dwellings partially destroyed
 * Cost of damage assessed at the time as ¥105,155