Academia Sinica research shows earthquakes spike 30% during dry season

Academia Sinica research shows earthquakes spike 30% during dry season

2026-06-03

Southwestern Taiwan has not seen much rain lately, but could the amount of rainfall have implications for seismic activity? After analyzing 16 years of satellite data, researchers at Academia Sinica discovered that seasonal rainfall may actually help regulate earthquakes. Every year during the dry season from February to April, the earth’s crust below southwestern Taiwan lifts as downward pressure eases, raising the frequency of earthquakes of at least magnitude 2.5 by 30% on average. However, seismologists stress that the correlation between seismic activity and groundwater levels shouldn’t be a cause for concern. And meteorologists have good news: From June 5, the region will finally see significant plum rains.

An expert can tap a watermelon to know if it’s sweet or not. The drier the weather, the sweeter it’ll be. Amid scant rainfall in southern Taiwan, reservoir levels have been plummeting. But that’s not all. Academia Sinica researchers have also discovered that the dry season may actually increase the frequency of earthquakes by 30%

Voice of Kuo Kai-wen
Seismologist
Groundwater permeates into the earth at a very slow rate. The depth of many of our earthquakes is at least 10km, meaning there’s no definitive correlation between seismic activity and surface water levels. There’s no need to worry that much. And large quakes of magnitude 6 or above aren’t that easy to predict.

While this seismologist stresses there’s no need to worry, Academia Sinica analysis of satellite data between 2002 and 2018 found that quakes are more likely during times of low rainfall. Researchers believe the primary reason is hydrological shifting, with the vertical stress amplitude induced by water fluctuations two to four times higher than horizontal stress. Tectonic pressure aside, the south desperately needs drought relief. A powerful Pacific high-pressure system in May kept the seasonal plum rains away, but the southwest monsoon is finally projected to move northward in early June.

Voice of Wu Sheng-yu
Meteorologist
Starting on the 5th or 6th and continuing until the middle of June, the southwest monsoon will gradually move north. For about seven to 10 days, during this time, there’s a good chance of developing a typical plum rain front.

As June looks poised to end Taiwan’s dry spell, the impending rainfall may do more than just alleviate drought—it could also help relieve the mounting stress built up beneath the earth’s crust.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#earthquake #rainfall #drought #plumrains #AcademiaSinica #research #seismology #meteorology #tectonicstress

缺水更易地震? 中研院分析:乾季地震活動增3成

2026-06-03

台灣西南部最近缺水，難道會是引發地震的隱形炸彈嗎？中研院團隊分析了16年的衛星定位數據，發現季節降雨竟然會調控地震！數據顯示，在每年2到4月的乾季，西南部地殼隆起、壓力減輕，規模2.5以上的地震竟然比平均高出3成，不過地震專家認為，大地震跟地下水的關聯不用過度恐慌，氣象專家也帶來好消息，6/5後，中南部就會迎來明顯的梅雨。

西瓜甜不甜，專家拍一拍就知道! 氣候越乾，西瓜就越甜，近來南部少雨，水庫蓄水率直直落，中研院調查更發現，西南部乾季，會讓地震活動，增加三成機率。

[[聲源:地震專家郭鎧紋]]
“那地下水它那個滲透的那個速度很慢，我們很多那個地震的那個深度，至少都在十公里以下的那個深度，跟那個地表水的那個關係並不是那麼明確了，不必太過緊張了，真的大的那個地震，那個規模6以上的地震，那個要預測也不是那麼簡單了”

儘管地震專家認為，不必過度緊張，但中研院分析2002年到2018年，長達16年的衛星定位數據，發現缺水時更易引發地震，主因就是水文變化，誘發的垂直應力振幅，比水平應力高出2到4倍。不管地殼壓力如何變化，南部的旱象確實需要雨水解渴，今年5月太平洋高壓強，導致梅雨落空，但6月上旬西南季風即將北上。

[[聲源:天氣風險公司資深顧問吳聖宇]]
“在(6月)5號、6號開始，然後一直到月中的這段時間，大概會是西南季風逐漸北上，大概會有七到十天左右，在這一段時間之內的話，是蠻有機會會形成這個所謂的這個，典型的梅雨鋒面”

隨著6月有望解除"空梅"，豐沛雨水不只能紓解旱象，或許也能幫緊繃的地殼壓力，好好降溫。

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Get anything fixed for NT$50 at this repair center in Taichung

If your household appliance breaks down and you live in Taichung, don’t just throw it out. The city’s Environmental Protection Bureau has a Home Appliance Care Center where repair experts extend the lives of small home appliances for just NT$50. They’re able to fix as much as 90% of the gadgets that come in, helping people to save money.

The kettle was brought back to life after repairs and can now be used again, all for just NT$50.

-I said I’d give it a try, and if I could fix it, I would.
- It’s fixed now.
- Yes.
- How much did it cost you?
- Only NT$50.

This is the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau’s Home Appliance Care Center. Looking around, you can see small household gadgets, such as electric fans and rice cookers. Taichung residents can bring their small home appliances here for repair.

This person was unsure whether her items could be repaired, but decided to give it a try, and brought in an oven and a fan.

Customer
Getting stuff fixed
I saw someone post about this in a community group, and came here quickly to give it a try. If it can’t be fixed, ask them to recycle it. If it does work, keep it and continue using it.

The home appliance repairman disassembled the faulty appliance to determine the location of the malfunction and the part that needed to be replaced.

Lin Chen-sheng
Home Appliance Care Center
Basically speaking, we will obtain relevant licenses for home appliance repair and electrical appliances.

However, repairs are limited to 11 types of items, including electric fans, hair dryers, ovens, rice cookers, water dispensers, and table lamps. High-power appliances are not accepted.

Chen Shih-ying
Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau
The repair rate is around 90%. Actually, when you first bring your item in, our technicians will do a simple preliminary inspection.

This Home Appliance Care Center helps people save money, but this benefit is limited to residents of Taichung. If your small appliance breaks down, don’t rush to throw it away—consider getting it repaired first. You might save yourself the cost of a replacement.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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2026-06-03

Kaohsiung hotel keeps adoptable cats in lobby to help find homes

Usually, you have to visit a shelter to adopt a cat. But the Kaohsiung Animal Protection Office is thinking outside of the box. It’s started partnering with a local hotel to select friendly cats to lounge in the lobby, giving people a chance to interact with them. If they fall in love with the animals, they can adopt one on the spot. In just a few days, two cats have already found new homes.

A cat stares out with big, watery eyes, squinting sleepily in an adorable way. This isn’t a pet store—it’s a hotel that’s made Kaohsiung’s first “cat adoption space.” People walking through the lobby can’t resist stopping to say hi.

Traveler
Dropping by
They made it so comfortable for them. Every cat is well fed and super clean. They look just like well-loved house pets.

Traveler
Dropping by
When you see them in an environment like this, it’s easier to imagine what they’d be like at home.

The Kaohsiung Animal Protection Office joined with a local hotel to keep friendly and affectionate cats in the lobby, giving travelers a chance to interact with them and maybe even bring home their newest family member. The initiative has been met with an enthusiastic response.

Su Chen-wei
Hotel sales director
We’ve had a huge number of guests express interest in bringing these cats home. In fact, in just the span of one week, we’ve already found homes for two cats.

Traveler
Likes cats
They really just need people to love them. It’s a really good thing this hotel is doing.

Inside this glass enclosure, cozy beds have been made for the cats to sleep alongside a cat tree. They hope to simulate a home environment, allowing for natural interactions to drive up adoption rates.

Kuo Ming-chin
Animal Protection Office deputy director
If more hotels or other pet-friendly spaces are willing to give us the opportunity to bring these pop-up adoptions to more places and let people interact with them and see how they could be at home together, we hope to seize every chance to get them adopted.

This clever collaboration between a local hotel and the city government is opening doors for shelter cats to find forever homes. The office has also set up a messaging group to follow up on the adopters, to ensure that the cats are off to a wonderful second start in life.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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Chinese government spokesman is speechless when asked about journalist’s expulsion

Back in February, China expelled New York Times journalist Vivian Wang from the country. The move was apparently retaliation for hosting President Lai Ching-te in a recorded interview for the paper’s DealBook Summit 2025, during which the host referred to Taiwan as a country. Earlier this week, a reporter from Japan’s TV Asahi brought up this matter during a Chinese foreign ministry press conference. Observers were surprised to see Lin Jian, the PRC foreign ministry spokesman, speechless for about 20 seconds, in apparent fear of saying the wrong words. Let’s see how it went down.

Voice of Asahi TV journalist
At press conference
The New York Times reports that a journalist has been expelled. What is the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s comment on this?

Lin Jian
PRC foreign ministry spokesperson
The New York Times provided a platform for the Taiwan authorities to spread the fallacy of Taiwan separatist independence and openly referred to Taiwan as a country, which seriously violates the one-China principle. The New York Times should correct its mistakes.

Lin Chun-hsien
Legislator (DPP)
The fact that the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson was stumped by a question and paused for 20 seconds is basically an international joke, all because they are terrified of doing something that might displease the Chinese Communist Party. China will stop at nothing to suppress Taiwan and prevent Taiwan’s voice from being heard. This is the truth about the authoritarian CCP hegemony.

Yaita Akio, a veteran journalist who spent 10 years in Beijing, posted on social media that the real China is a country that expels foreign journalists, frightens interviewees into shutting off their phones and has made pressure a part of daily life. According toYaita, this is because the CCP is a regime that lacks a sense of security and confidence, and is afraid of any voices it cannot control.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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Operator dies crushed by hook after crane tilts over

A crane operator was killed at work after a lifting operation went awry in Chiayi’s Dongshi Township. It began when the crane was lifted off the ground on one side from attempting to lift something too heavy. The operator tried to straighten it back up, and managed to do so by rocking the cabin back. But as the crane got upright again, the heavy hook at the end of the boon swung back as well and smashed into the driver’s cab in full force. First responders found the man with no signs of life, and he was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

In the middle of a lifting operation, the crane tilted over, leaving several supports in the air.

The operator tried to rock the crane back into position, but as soon as it settled, the hook suspended from the end swung back and crashed into the cab, critically injuring the operator.

Emergency responders rushed to the scene, but the crane operator showed no signs of life. Medics tried to resuscitate him, but he was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Hung Ming-tsung
Dongshi Fire Brigade
When we arrived at the scene, we saw the crane operator, approximately 60 years old, had sustained a traumatic injury and had suffered an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. We provided emergency treatment and rushed him to Chang Gung Memorial Hospital.

Was the tragic incident caused by a mechanical failure? Or human error? A crane operator says that trying to resolve an off-balance crane that way is not recommended.

Crane operator
Unrelated to incident
The crane was overloaded and he tried to save the situation himself. He retracted the boom, which settled the crane back down. But that made the hook swing back and strike the cab. They should’ve stabilized the crane with two others first to reduce the risk.

Labor safety inspectors are investigating whether there were any violations of safety protocols or operating procedures. For now it seems that the response to a moment of panic and trying to solve problems alone ended costing a man his life.

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Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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KMT leader boasts of Xi meeting at event with Taiwan expats in US

Opposition leader Cheng Li-wun is continuing to spark controversy during her US tour. She suggested she would not be taken seriously by Washington if she did not first obtained the full trust of China’s leader Xi Jinping. Furthermore, her entourage includes Vivi Chin, a KMT member who is a mainland Chinese spouse. Reports say Chin both works for China’s United Front Department and is financially backing Cheng’s trip. There are worries about the impact this will have in Washington and the implications for Taiwan. Let’s find out more.

The drum performance on stage is deafening. The expatriate Taiwanese community in San Francisco warmly welcomes KMT Chair Cheng Li-wun but it seems she’s very hungry. She eats bite after bite, seeming to ignore the energetic performance from the overseas Taiwanese community members behind her.

Host
Event host
Among all the foreign guests we’ve received, and all the chairs we’ve hosted, this chair is the first who dared to start eating. It’s remarkable, considering she usually doesn’t eat much.

As soon as Cheng took the stage, she sang the praises of her meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Cheng Li-wun
KMT chair
Without the Cheng-Xi summit in Beijing, frankly speaking, I would just be an ordinary chair. Even if I came to the US. I wouldn’t be able to change a thing. I need to obtain the full sincerity and goodwill from General Secretary Xi Jinping, the top leader in Beijing. Only in this way, my visit to the US takes on a different meaning.

Cheng’s pro-China rhetoric remains unchanged in the US. Vivi Chin, a member of the KMT Central Standing Committee who has loudly advocated for unification with China, also attended the banquet. Reports say she did not only pay for her attendance on this US trip, but was also one of its financial backers. However one scholar thinks Cheng will only attract more criticism, as she is simultaneously promoting peace while bringing along a financial backer who advocates for unification with China.

Dennis Weng (June 2)
US-based scholar
I’m afraid it will really have an impact, and there might be complications. People in Washington don’t know that among the so-called delegation members, there is a Chinese spouse. The KMT historically never ever did this before. Vivi Chin belongs to a branch of the United Front Work Department, so I think any Taiwanese person with a little sense would probably feel that this arrangement seems a little suss.

According to the latest poll by MyFormosa, Cheng’s trust rating has dwindled from 31% just after the Cheng-Xi summit to 23%. Cheng may think that meeting with Xi has brought results, but in the end public opinion will deliver the verdict.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

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