Taiwan, its Tectonics, and its Hazards

 

When it comes to Taiwan, Taiwan is right between two tectonic plate boundaries. Taiwan is technically wedged between the Philippine Sea plate and the Eurasion Plate. Because of this, Taiwan has different sections in it that are said to have more and more metamorphosis as you go from one side of Taiwan all the way to the other side. Because of this placement between the plate boundaries, Taiwan has started to become known as the “Critical Wedge” by many people who study the Tectonic Plates.

Because of Taiwan's location, they experience a lot of natural disasters. “Taiwan might be the most vulnerable [country] to natural hazards on Earth,” said Yi-en Tso and David A. Mcentire in their paper, Emergency Management in Taiwan: Learning from Past and Current Experiences. A majority of the population and island are exposed to around 3 natural hazards at once with these hazards being earthquakes, flooding, landslides, typhoons, and some debris flow. Along with being wedged between two plate boundaries, Taiwan is also on the Ring of Fire. Because of these placements Taiwan is known for its earthquakes and has quite a few of them constantly. While most are too small to actually feel, some aren't so small with the biggest earthquake recorded there being the Chi-Chi Earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 and about 6.5 aftershocks.