The Hualien earthquake struck Eastern Taiwan on February 6, 2018, causing the loss of 17 lives, 295 injuries and produced at least $80 million USD in damage. This paper summarizes the important lessons learned following a reconnaissance trip to Hualien city about one week after the main shock. The first part of the paper introduces the general characteristics of earthquake and regional geotechnical backgrounds follow by discussions on the response of city agencies to earthquake damage. The second part presents the structural and non-structural damage observations on two hospitals, four multi-unit residential buildings, three hotels, one commercial building and a recently completed bridge. Ground failures along the active fault are also briefly discussed. Finally, a summary of key lessons and future earthquake preparedness recommendations are made.
展开▼
