RMS Reconnaissance Team Returns From Taiwan With Findings On Earthquake.

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 29, 1999--

Risk Management Solutions (RMS) announced today the initial findings of a reconnaissance team dispatched on September 21 to survey damages immediately after a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck central Taiwan. The team, led by Dr. Weimin Dong, RMS Chief Technical Officer, included Guy Morrow, RMS Vice President and Technical Engineer, Craig Van Anne, OYO RMS President and Chief Operations Officer, and Akio Tanaka, OYO RMS Project Manager. Collaborating in this reconnaissance effort were Japanese firms OYO Corporation and ERS, as well as Taiwan's National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering and National Central University. The team investigated damages in Nantou and Taichung counties, as well as in Taipei and Yuanlin.

As RMS teams have observed recently in both Turkey and Greece, poor construction and structural design practices may be the leading causes of building damage and life losses in Taiwan. In the epicentral region of Nantou county, where a large portion of the reported 6,000 complete building collapses occurred, the team observed heavy damage suggesting that local ground shaking intensities ranged from X to XI on the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale. Approximately half of the earthquake's reported 2,100 deaths occurred in Nantou county, and much of the earthquake's relief efforts are concentrated there. Motion caused by the earthquake severed first story concrete columns of many of the region's low and mid-rise buildings, which were typically constructed with weak open first stories accommodating retail businesses and parking.

Major Transportation, Utility, and Business Disruptions

Team members inspected fault rupture and ground failure related damages at many of the country's major water, transportation, and electrical facilities. In the epicentral region, team geoscientists mapped portions of the 80 kilometer surface rupture of the earthquake-generating reverse fault, and investigated sites experiencing vertical uplifts of up to 8 meters, numerous landslides (several with displacements of up to 100 meters), and other spectacular ground failures.

Ground displacements in this earthquake were found to be similar in nature to those observed in epicentral region of the October 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. However, the size and concentration of ground failures in Taiwan were much greater, and the effects were far more significant, particularly for utilities and roads. Ground failures and landsliding across the mountainous epicentral region destroyed highway bridges and caused large cracks in the roadways. At least 600 road interruptions were reported.

The team inspected the Shrgang Dam, which was built to provide water for Taiwan's third largest city, Taichung and surrounding areas. Ground failures at the dam caused 10 to 15 meter vertical displacements between adjacent piers, emptying the reservoir and destroying the structure. The river port facilities in Taichung also experienced widespread liquefaction and ground failures.

The RMS team also inspected the Jung Liau electric power substation, a major hub for transmitting power from southern to northern Taiwan. The substation sustained heavy damage caused by fault rupturing through the site and massive ground failures underneath the facilities. Coupled with a week-long, planned shutdown of three of the country's six nuclear power plants, the substation's closure caused widespread power outages across the country. Power was rerouted onto transmission lines with limited capacity, and during reconnection, supplies in northern Taiwan were rationed to only 25% of normal levels.

The Hsinchu Science Park, a major high-technology center for Taiwan's economy, received power restoration priority, while the remainder of the country may not receive full capacity until the first week of October. Most businesses at the Hsinchu Science Park, which generates 10% of the global production in semiconductors, suffered only modest direct damage in the earthquake. However, the week-long power outage will result in significant business interruption losses estimated at more than $300 million (USD).

About RMS

Risk Management Solutions (www.riskinc.com) is the world's leading provider of products and services for the quantification and management of property catastrophe, natural hazard and complex business risks. Its clients include leading insurers, reinsurers, industrial corporations, governments, and financial institutions. Founded at Stanford University in 1988, RMS employs over 500 people worldwide, and has partnerships with leading companies in the areas of corporate risk, risk finance, and weather risk such as Arthur Andersen, EarthSat, and Oliver, Wyman and Company. RMS is owned by DMG Information, a division of the U.K.-based Daily Mail and General Trust plc media enterprise.