The 2024 Hualien, Taiwan earthquake: NZSEE learning from earthquakes reconnaissance report

A Mw 7.4 earthquake struck off the east coast of Taiwan on 3 April 2024. Strong ground shaking was felt across Taiwan, with the highest intensities recorded in Hualien County, resulting in 18 fatalities, three people missing, over 1,100 injuries, the collapse of several buildings, and significant disruptions to infrastructure. Compared with other major recent earthquakes in Taiwan, such as 1999 Chi-Chi Earthquake (Mw 7.6), and 2016 Meinong Earthquake (Mw 6.4), the overall damage and casualty levels were relatively low, demonstrating the benefits of important advancements in seismic resilience in Taiwan since the Chi-Chi Earthquake. To gain a detailed understanding of the impacts of the earthquake and of Taiwan’s seismic resilience developments over the past two decades, a New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE) Learning from Earthquakes (LFE) team was deployed to Taiwan between May and June 2024. This journal article reports the observations and key insights from field inspections, meetings with government officials, and discussions with researchers and professors at local universities. The lessons learned from Taiwan’s experience provide valuable insights for New Zealand, highlighting the importance of pragmatic, cost-effective retrofit schemes, proactive emergency management, and rapid functional recovery strategies.