The 1935 Hsinchu-Taichung earthquake ( or ; literally Great 1935 Central Taiwan Earthquake) was a magnitude

Richter magnitude scale

The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....

 7.1 earthquake

Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

 which occurred on April 21, 1935, with its epicentre in Sanyi

Sanyi, Miaoli

Sanyi Township is a township in southern Miaoli County, Taiwan. It is famous for its mudiao industry earning it the name the woodcarving kingdom of Taiwan .-Geography:Sanyi is located in the mountains of northwestern Taiwan...

 (三義), Miaoli County

Miaoli County

Miaoli County is a county in western Taiwan. The name Miaoli was coined using two Hakka words, cat and raccoon dog , which phonetically approximate Pali , a community of Taokas people...

, Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

. It was the deadliest earthquake in Taiwan's recorded history, claiming 3,276 lives and causing extensive damage. 12 seconds after the main quake, an aftershock of M_L 6.0 occurred, centred on present-day Emei Township

Emei, Hsinchu

Emei is a town in Hsinchu County in northern Taiwan. It had an estimated population of 6,127 as of 2007....

, Hsinchu County

Hsinchu County

Hsinchu County is a county in north-western Taiwan. The population of the county is mainly Hakka; there is a Taiwanese aboriginal minority in the southeastern part of the county. Zhubei is the capital of Hsinchu, where the government office and county office is located...

.

Technical details

The initial shock happened at 06:02 local time on April 21, 1935. The epicentre was in Sanyi, Miaoli, with the quake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale. The quake was felt all over Taiwan apart from Hengchun on the southern tip of the island, as well as in Fuzhou

Fuzhou

Fuzhou is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong linguistic and cultural area....

 and Xiamen

Xiamen

Xiamen , also known as Amoy , is a major city on the southeast coast of the People's Republic of China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province with an area of and population of 3.53 million...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, across the Taiwan Strait

Taiwan Strait

The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait, formerly known as the Black Ditch, is a 180-km-wide strait separating Mainland China and Taiwan. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to East China Sea to the northeast...

. Soil liquefaction

Soil liquefaction

Soil liquefaction describes a phenomenon whereby a saturated soil substantially loses strength and stiffness in response to an applied stress, usually earthquake shaking or other sudden change in stress condition, causing it to behave like a liquid....

 was observed in various locations, and a 3 m (10 ft) drop between the two sides of the fault was in evidence at Emei Township. The most serious damage from the quake was located in Shinchiku Prefecture

Shinchiku Prefecture

was one of the administrative divisions of Taiwan during the Japanese rule. The prefecture consisted of modern day Hsinchu, Taoyuan County, Hsinchu County, and Miaoli County.-Population:1941 census.*Total population: 838,011**Japanese 20,693...

 and Taichū Prefecture (present-day Miaoli County and Taichung City) over a 135 square kilometres (52 sq mi) area.

A number of aftershocks followed the main quake, with the largest registering 6.0 with an epicentre in Emei Township, Hsinchu County.

Damage

The earthquake was the deadliest in Taiwan's recorded history. The official reports cite the following figures for deaths, injuries and damage:

• Deaths: 3,276
• Injuries: 12,053
• Houses destroyed: 17,907
• Houses damaged: 36,781

The infrastructure of the island also sustained severe damage, with transportation, communications, and water networks heavily compromised.

Reported portents

Residents in central Taiwan reported that several days before the earthquake there were "signs in the sky" of impending disaster, while locals from Qingshui, Taichung County

Taichung County

Taichung County was a county in central Taiwan, the Republic of China, that surrounded but did not include Taichung City. The name Taichung means "central Taiwan"...

near the epicentre, reported water boiling in ground wells an hour before the shock.

Response

The great number of casualties in the earthquake prompted a review of safety standards, with the colonial Japanese government implementing building codes of a similar standard to those in force in Japan in the wake of the disaster. Locals were apparently appreciative of the efforts of Japanese policemen in recovering bodies, given local superstitions about touching the dead.