Strong earthquake shakes Taiwan
A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Taitung in the southeastern part of Taiwan on Sunday, local time, reports the Central Weather Bureau (CBW), the country's seismological center.
Updated; September 20, 2022 11:13 AM
According to a report by Reuters, citing the Taiwanese fire department, 146 people have been injured during the quake and one life has been lost. The initial quake in Taitung was followed by a 6.4. magnitude aftershock.
As of writing, no damage to the semiconductor hubs in Tainan and Kaohsiung has been reported.
Evertiq has reached out to several semiconductor companies with operations on the island for an update.
TSMC told Evertiq in an emailed statement that some of its staff were evacuated from the cleanroom at TSMC’s southern Taiwan campus when the earthquake occurred. The company says that they quickly resumed work after confirming there were no safety concerns.
TSMC continues to state that no damage has been recorded to either its building or infrastructure. The company says that it does not expect any significant impact on its operation.
Micron stated in an email response to Evertiq's questions that, based on its current assessments, the company has determined that there was no significant impact to its team members, facilities, systems or supply chain as a result of the earthquakes.
"Our sites in Taiwan have returned to normal operations. While we anticipate some wafer scrap, no significant impact to our product quality or delivery is expected. We are continuing to address the situation proactively and are working to ensure any disruption to deliveries is minimized," Micron told Evertiq.
UMC responded to Evertiq's questions stating that the quakes triggered a shutdown of a small portion of the company's equipment due to automatic safety measures. However, production has since resumed as normal.
"All personnel at our Hsinchu and Tainan sites are safe," the company wrote in the statement.
