Natural Disasters

A Staggering Number How did Taiwanese people learn to live with earthquakes and typhoons? The Revised Taiwan Provincial Chronicles contains a set of numbers that might leave you speechless: Between 1909 and 1982, Taiwan recorded 17,564 felt earthquakes and 62,542 unfelt tremors. That’s an average of two felt earthquakes every three days. You read that right. On April 21, 1935, an earthquake killed 3,276 people. 12,053 were injured. 17,907 buildings were completely destroyed. ...

Background: A Game of Survival Between Mountains and Sea Fujian, situated on the southeastern coast of China, is defined by its “eight mountains, one water, and one field.” While this geography provides rich resources, it also places the province at the forefront of the Pacific’s volatile weather systems. For millennia, the people of Fujian have been locked in a “survival game” with nature. The fury of typhoons, the overflow of the Minjiang River, and persistent droughts are not just geological events; they are etched into the collective memory and social fabric of the region. ...