Mortality of the 921 Earthquake in Nantou and Taichung Counties

S. N. Han ； K. T. Chen

《Epidemiology Bulletin》 16卷1期 (2000/01) Pp. 1-8

https://doi.org/10.6525/TEB.200001_16(1).0001

並列摘要

Early in the morning on September 21, 1999 (921), a devastating earthquake registering 7.3 on the Richter scale struck Taiwan. The epicenter was at Chichi in Nantou County, a rural township southwest of Sun-Moon Lake. This severe once-in-a-century earthquake was then named the “Chichi” earthquake by the Central Weather Bureau. According to the statistics of the National Fire Administration, Ministry of Interior ( NFA ) , by October 11, 1999, the casualties numbered 2,329 deaths and 8,722 injured. This survey collected information concerning deaths due to the earthquake in both Nantou and Taichung counties by age, sex, and township, to establish a basic epidemiological database on the mortality rate of the earthquake. Information was collected from the quake-ravaged townships of Nantou and Taichung counties. Earthquake mortality rate and mortality rate by sex and age were calculated for each township by using the 1998 year-end population as the denominator, and the deaths directly caused by the quake as the numerator. In Nantou county, the sex ratio of quake deaths was 1.0:1.08 (the sex ratio of the current population being 1.0:0.91). Puli township, had the highest death toll of 181; though Chungliao township had the highest mortality of nearly 1%. Sex-specific mortality rates did not show significant differences by age (p=0.33 by t-test). Ten of the 21 townships in Taichung county sustained puake deaths; the sex ratio being 1.0:1.06 (the sex ratio of the current population of the ten townships being 1.0:0.95). Tungshi township had the highest death toll of 322; though Shihkang township had the highest mortality of 1..14%, the highest of all townships. Sex-specific mortality rates did not show significant differences by age (p=0.42 by t-test).