A major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 struck off the east coast of Taiwan, (see Quake Map) tilted buildings and claimed at least four lives. It was the strongest earthquake to hit the island in 25 years.
No Tsunami Warning, Advisory, Watch, or Threat
For California, there is No Tsunami Warning, Advisory, Watch, or Threat at this time listed:
The 7.5 quake near Taiwan (7 miles down) was at 4:58 PM California time. From one tsunami travel time map, it looks like even the 9.2 quake in Japan in 2008 did not cause a Tsunami watch 7 hours later at the California coast.
http://itic.ioc-unesco.org/images/stories/oldsite/upload/PacWave08_global_ttt_221.jpg
If that 7 hour travel time is about right, we might have a first swell, non-damaging sea level changes, around midnight on 4/3/2024 California time.
The likelihood of a tsunami in California following an earthquake in Taiwan is low. Even powerful earthquakes in Taiwan, such as the recent 7.4 to 7.7 magnitude quakes, did not pose a tsunami threat to California. The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center confirmed that there was no tsunami danger for California and the U.S. West Coast after the earthquakes in Taiwan, although some areas might experience non-damaging sea level changes[6][9][10]. Therefore, based on the information provided in the sources, the probability of a tsunami affecting California after an earthquake in Taiwan is minimal.
A 7.4 quake struck near Taiwan at 7:58 AM local time April 3rd. This was 3:58 PM California time. With a 7 hour travel time according to one map, there should be a first swell around midnight tonight. Note that according to this map a much stronger quake in Japan of 9.8 did not even generate a watch alert for California.
Distance from Taiwan to California
The total straight line flight distance from Taiwan to California is 6,732 miles.
This is equivalent to 10 834 kilometers or 5,850 nautical miles.
Here is a map of tsunami travel times for a larger quake on Oct 24th, 2008 off the east coast of Honshu, Japan, for reference.
News Summary of Taiwan Quake April 3rd, 2024.
A major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 struck off the east coast of Taiwan, (see Quake Map) making it the strongest earthquake to hit the island in 25 years. The quake’s epicenter was approximately 18 kilometers south of Hualien, leading to multiple strong aftershocks, including one measuring 6.5 in magnitude. The earthquake caused landslides and rockfalls on a central Taiwan highway, resulting in at least 9 injuries. Four people have reportedly died as of the time of this report. Reports indicated tilted houses and damage in Hualien County, prompting Taiwan’s Defense Ministry to deploy military troops for disaster relief and damage control. Tsunami warnings were issued for Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines in the aftermath of the earthquake.
The seismic event occurred at 7:58 a.m. local time on Wednesday, registering a magnitude of 7.4 according to the US Geological Survey, while Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration recorded it as 7.2 on the Richter scale. The earthquake led to partial collapses of multiple buildings in Hualien, with some structures leaning at precarious angles. Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC evacuated some of its factories in Hsinchu and southern Taiwan for safety reasons, although its safety systems remained operational. TSMC, a key semiconductor producer for tech companies like Apple and Nvidia, took precautions following the earthquake.
Aftershocks Warning
Citations
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_earthquakes_in_Taiwan
[2] https://www.worlddata.info/asia/taiwan/earthquakes.php
[3] https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/02/asia/taiwan-earthquake-tsunami-warning-intl-hnk/index.html
[4] https://www.ksbw.com/article/earthquake-tsunami-taiwan/60375690
[5] https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-earthquake-tsunami-f086aac0c3082036d1ca77c01828fb28
[6] https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/apr/03/taiwan-earthquake-today-live-updates-magnitude-tsunami-warning-japan-evacuations-okinawa-buildings-collapse-tapei
[7] https://nypost.com/2024/04/02/world-news/7-2-magnitude-earthquake-hits-taiwan-tsunami-warnings-issued-in-japan/
[8] https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/04/03/japan/okinawa-tsunami-warning/
[9] https://www.yahoo.com/news/no-california-tsunami-danger-huge-010640578.html?guccounter=1
[10] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/02/taiwan-earthquake-tsunami-japan/
