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look for signs that new eruptions or earthquakes may be about to happen. Thus, armed with all of this information, earth scientists have also been able to help people understand the kinds of hazards that earthquakes and eruptions pose, how best to predict them, and how to protect against their devastating effects.
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Taipei
Taichung Taiwan
20 km
Epicentre Rupture line Other faults
CheLongPu Fault
Taichung
(On this page) At about 1.47 a.m. on the morning
of 20th September 1999, an earthquake struck the Pacific island of Taiwan. Within a few moments major changes in the landscape had occurred.
(From top to bottom) One part of the island sank lower than the rest by several metres. The change
in height that occurred (along the fault) was seen across towns and countryside. Where the ground sank across the path of a river, it created a new waterfall as well as destroying a bridge.
Where the rocks were unstable or the soil loose, shaking by the earthquake caused rockfalls and landslides. All of these changes had occurred within a few seconds and without warning.
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