Sensors installed along Meishan fault in anticipation of strong quake

Taipei, Jan. 13 (CNA) National Chung Cheng University (NCCU) in Chiayi County has recently installed a total of 100 seismic sensors along the Meishan fault in Yunlin and Chiayi to monitor seismic activity in the southern Taiwan region.

The sensors were installed along the Meishan fault -- which runs along the urban district of Meishan Township in Chiayi County and Gukeng Township in Yunlin County -- to monitor seismic activity there, Strong Wen (温士忠), an associate professor at NCCU's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, said on Wednesday.

The 100 devices were placed one kilometer apart to form a square in the Meishan and Gukeng area near NCCU, Wen said.

Data collected from the sensors will be used to study the stratum structural system in the area to predict any signs of a major, catastrophic earthquake, he added.

According to Wen, major earthquakes are highly likely to happen on the Meishan fault in the near future.

The fault, which induced a catastrophic earthquake in 1906, is considered capable of triggering equivalent events with a return period of around 110 years, because previous to that, the biggest major quake around Meishan was in 1792, Wen said.

The 1906 temblor, which registered 7.1 on the Richter scale, resulted in 1,258 deaths.

Wen said the department will also install another 100 sensors in Chiayi City and Tainan's Baihe District in the near future to closely monitor seismic activity in the region.