7.4-magnitude earthquake strikes on coast of Taiwan

[Fred Chen]

Damage assessment: $60 million (upwards)

TSMC Predicts $60m Hit From Taiwan's Biggest Quake in 25 Years

The world's top chipmaker said impacts from the quake could hit its Q2 earnings, but the costs could be much higher if other firms' plants were affected

www.asiafinancial.com

 

[Fred Chen]

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.

The mention of the EUV tools doesn't reveal the real danger. The EUV tools are the largest hydrogen gas containers, any leak has enormous threats.