TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and resulting aftershocks in Chiayi early Tuesday morning triggered a shutdown and evacuation of TSMC's advanced process production lines in both the Southern and Central Science Parks.
Other high-tech manufacturers at the two science parks were also affected. According to media reports, companies such as UMC and Innolux also suspended production, per UDN.
The Southern Science Park Administration said that all major factories have automatic shutdown devices on their production machines. The shallow nature of the earthquake magnified the seismic impact, leading many factories to have no choice but to suspend production on high-precision equipment.
The Chiayi earthquake had a depth of less than 10 km, allowing it to be felt throughout Taiwan.
According to park authorities, engineers not on duty were also called back to rescue work in mid-production and later restart operations. Whether or not production capacity will be compromised by the earthquake will be individually evaluated by manufacturers.
The science parks did not have any reports of factory fires, power system failures, and water supply pipeline damage. Park authorities attributed this to preventative measures and the excellent infrastructure of the science parks.
TSMC said that employee safety is a top priority. It confirmed that all personnel in associated factories are safe.
