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7.4-magnitude earthquake strikes on coast of Taiwan

fansink

Active member
A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Wednesday morning on the east coast of Taiwan, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake happened at around 8 a.m. local time and had a depth of around 21 miles, according to the USGS. It was located about 11 miles south-southwest of Hualien City.

A view of Taipei, Taiwan, in the midst of an earthquake (Reuters)

A view of Taipei, Taiwan, in the midst of an earthquake (Reuters)
Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued tsunami warnings for Okinawa Islands, Miyakojima and the Yaemama area, with heights as much as 3 meters, or a little less than 10 feet, possible.

The Tsunami Warning Center in the U.S. said there was a tsunami threat of up to 1 meter for Japan and 1 to 3 meters for Taiwan.

Officials in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture told people in coastal areas to go to higher ground as soon as possible, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported, and said that an 11-inch tsunami was observed at Yonaguni Island.

The Philippines were also expected to see tsunami waves, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said. The waves could last hours, it said.

There was no tsunami threat in New Zealand or on the U.S. Pacific coast, officials said.

Taiwan’s meteorological agency listed the magnitude of the earthquake at 7.2.

There have been less powerful earthquakes in the area following the larger one, according to the USGS. Those had magnitudes of 6.5, 5.7 and 5.5.

The USGS said on its alert about the initial earthquake that the shaking would have been "very strong" in the Hualien area, as well as in Puli, and strongly felt elsewehere.

A live camera on YouTube at Liyu Lake near Hualien that had been showing a peaceful, sunny scene began to violently shake at around 7:58 a.m. local time.

A witness told Reuters the temblor was felt in Shanghai, and Chinese state media said it was felt in Fujian province, the news agency reported.

Hualien City has a population of around 106,000 and is on the eastern coast of the island, around 70 miles southeast of the capital of Taipei.

Taiwan is on the so-called Ring of Fire that circles the Pacific Basin and which is known for earthquakes.

 
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Does anyone have any data on TSMC disruptions?

On Wednesday, TSMC said staff were beginning to return to evacuated sites though it stressed it was examining impact.
 

TSMC Halts Some Chipmaking as Taiwan Gauges Quake Fallout

fea20ef58f336168a2d3cf2cfa79507b

TSMC Halts Some Chipmaking as Taiwan Gauges Quake Fallout·Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. halted some chipmaking and evacuated plants after the biggest earthquake in 25 years struck its home island, raising concerns about disruptions to the global tech supply chain.

moved staff out of certain areas and said it’s assessing the impact of a temblor measuring 7.4 in magnitude off the east coast. Smaller local rival United Microelectronics Corp. also halted machinery at some plants and evacuated certain facilities at its hubs of Hsinchu and Tainan, it said in a statement.

Taiwanese firms from TSMC to ASE Technology Holding Co. make and assemble the vast majority of the semiconductors that go into devices from iPhones to cars, from factories vulnerable to even the slightest tremors. A single vibration can destroy entire batches of the precision-made semiconductors. TSMC’s US-traded shares were little changed Wednesday morning in New York while UMC was down less than 1%.

“The robust demand for the firm’s advanced node processes will cushion any financial effects” from the earthquake, analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence said, reflecting general expectations among analysts of limited potential impact.

The island’s tech firms are still assessing the damage from the earthquake, which leveled dozens of buildings on its eastern side and killed at least four people. On Wednesday, TSMC said staff were beginning to return to evacuated sites though it stressed it was still examining the impact. Still, any halt in production threatens to upset a process that can require uninterrupted seclusion in a vacuum for weeks on end, — especially for sophisticated semiconductors — Barclays analysts wrote.

“Some of the high-end chips need 24/7 seamless operations in a vacuum state for a few weeks,” analysts Bum Ki Son and Brian Tan said. “Operation halts in Taiwan’s northern industrial areas could mean some high-end chips in production may be spoiled.”

Taiwan is prone to quakes because it’s near the convergence of two tectonic plates. Yet it’s also the source of an estimated 80% to 90% of the highest-end chips required for advanced applications such as smartphones and AI.

Industry executives and government officials have long called out the dangers of centering the world’s advanced semiconductor production on an island that, apart from natural shocks, is considered a potential military flashpoint. That became particularly evident during the Covid era, which exacerbated a global shortage of the vital components.

American officials, mindful of the threat to Taiwan from a mainland Chinese government that considers the island a renegade province, have pushed US and Taiwanese companies — including TSMC — to diversify geographically.

But TSMC expansion projects now underway in Japan and the US will take time to get up to full speed and American companies such as Micron Technology Inc. still maintain major operations on the island. Micron said it’s evaluating its operations and supply chain, but that all staff are safe.

 
There have been hundreds of small earthquakes after the major one. All in east coast and fabs are in west coast of Taiwan.
1712188567783.png
 
Fortunate it struck the eastern shore
The whole island sits on a fault, it is like LA or San Francisco. It isn’t a what if, it is a when.

You hope Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung and Hainchu have lots of little ones as a big 7+ will be catastrophic to wafers in process but many tools will be long down.

Reminds me of when Intel dominated x86 but mitigated with fabs across the US and globe. Concentration seems to be the name of the game for efficiency.
 

“A small number of tools were damaged at certain facilities, partially impacting their operations. However, there is no damage to our critical tools,” TSMC said in a statement late Wednesday.
Lots of click focused video but the earthquake epicenter was both deep and far north east of the critical manufacturing.

I am sure all the companies have extra measures in the building as well as pedestals for the tools, sorry I have been in a big one. If and when it hits the west industrial we will be talking months if not longer if power and water infrastructure is impacted.

The question will China ans Xi or a Natural disaster happen first, LOL. Again not if, only question is when!

It won’t only be RD slip of six to nine months but possible equally loss of output as well as tragic loss of life, but the economic implosion will make the COVID disruption nothing in comparison

 

“A small number of tools were damaged at certain facilities, partially impacting their operations. However, there is no damage to our critical tools,” TSMC said in a statement late Wednesday.
A fab line even if a small number of tools, for example if it is IPA, or Sulfuric line and the whole distribution is contaminated you are talking that is a big deal, duh
 
Lots of click focused video but the earthquake epicenter was both deep and far north east of the critical manufacturing.

I am sure all the companies have extra measures in the building as well as pedestals for the tools, sorry I have been in a big one. If and when it hits the west industrial we will be talking months if not longer if power and water infrastructure is impacted.
The Taichung and Hsinchu fabs were closest this time: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/04/02/world/asia/map-taiwan-earthquake-hualien.html

TW Apr 3 2024 earthquake epicenter.png
 

TSMC Statement on April 3rd Earthquake

2024/04/03 23:23:01

1.Date of occurrence of the event:2024/04/03
2.Company name:Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.
3.Relationship to the Company (please enter ”head office” or
”subsidiaries”):Head office
4.Reciprocal shareholding ratios:NA
5.Cause of occurrence:NA
6.Countermeasures:NA
7.Any other matters that need to be specified (the information disclosure
also meets the requirements of Article 7, subparagraph 9 of the Securities
and Exchange Act Enforcement Rules, which brings forth a significant impact
on shareholders rights or the price of the securities on public companies.):
Taiwan experienced a number of earthquakes on April 3, reaching as high as
magnitude level 7.2 (the largest in Taiwan over the past 25 years). The
maximum magnitude at the Hsinchu, Longtan, and Zhunan science parks was 5,
and reached magnitude 4 at the Taichung and Tainan science parks.

TSMC’s safety systems are operating normally. Preventative measures to
ensure employee safety and wellbeing were initiated at that time according
to procedure, and some fabs were evacuated. All personnel are safe and
returned to their workplace shortly after the incident. The company is
currently evaluating the impact.

Initial inspections show that our construction sites are normal. However,
the Company suspended work at construction sites for April 3, and work
will resume following further inspections.

Based on TSMC ‘s ample experience and capabilities in earthquake response
and damage prevention, as well as regular disaster drills to ensure full
readiness, overall tool recovery of our fabs reached more than 70% within
10 hours of the earthquake, with new fabs such as the Fab 18 facility
reaching more than 80%. A small number of tools were damaged at certain
facilities, partially impacting their operations. However, there is no
damage to our critical tools including all of our extreme ultraviolet
(EUV) lithography tools.

TSMC is deploying all available resources for full recovery, and impacted
facilities are expected to resume production throughout the night. We are
in close communication with our customers, and will continue to monitor
the situation closely and communicate directly with customers as
appropriate.
 
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