Why Taiwan was so prepared for a powerful earthquake

HUALIEN, Taiwan - When the largest earthquake in Taiwan in half a century struck off its east coast, the buildings in the closest city, Hualien, swayed and rocked. As more than 300 aftershocks rocked the island over the next 24 hours till the morning of April 4, the buildings shook again and again.Even the two buildings that suffered the most damage remained largely intact, allowing residents to climb out the windows of upper storeys to safety.

“We came to see for ourselves how serious it was, why it has tilted,” said Madam Chang Mei-chu, 66, who arrived on a scooter with her husband Lai Yung-chi, 72, at the building on April 4. Earthquakes are unavoidable in Taiwan, which sits on multiple active faults. Decades of work learning from other disasters, implementing strict building codes and increasing public awareness have gone into helping its people weather frequent strong quakes.

Mr Chou Chung-Che, director-general of the National Centre for Research on Earthquake Engineering in Taipei, said: “We have retrofitted more than 10,000 school buildings in the last 20 years.” Still, some experts say more needs to be done to either strengthen or demolish structures that do not meet standards, and such calls have grown louder in the wake of the latest earthquake.It is home to the majority of production for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co , the world’s largest maker of advanced computer chips.

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