Most earthquakes in Taiwan measuring 7 or greater on the Richter scale happen east of the island, but the destructive power of these quakes is somewhat lessened by the fact that the epicenter is generally located off the coast and deep beneath the ocean floor, where the denser Philippine plate is subducted beneath the Eurasian plate. Earthquakes in western Taiwan, on the other hand, generally occur close to the surface and cause tremendous disasters.
雖然台灣七級以上大地震仍以東部居多，但質量較重的菲律賓海板塊在猛烈的撞擊後衝入歐亞板塊之下，因此，東部地震震央常在外海深處，災難也就不似西部每每以淺震出現，釀成一次次的人間悲劇。