Taiwan's 7.3 Earthquake: TSMC, UMC Partial Evacuations

On April 3rd, the China Earthquake Networks Center confirmed a seismic event with a magnitude of 7.3 in the sea off Hualien County, Taiwan. This earthquake, occurring at 07:58 local time, reached a depth of 12 kilometers.

In response to the earthquake, several major players in the electronic components industry, including TSMC and UMC, reported partial evacuations from their facilities. The full extent of the impact is currently under investigation. Presently, there have been no reports of disruptions to power supply in various areas of Taiwan's semiconductor hub, the Hsinchu Science Park.

TSMC has confirmed that partial evacuations were conducted in line with internal safety protocols. Although their facilities are primarily engineered to withstand earthquakes up to magnitude 7.0, some quartz tubes have ruptured, and there is partial damage to wafers on production lines. As a precautionary measure, certain equipment has been temporarily halted to undergo inspection, mitigating the risk of any operational deviations.

Preliminary assessments suggest that the disruption may affect working hours for up to 6 hours, with an estimated financial impact of approximately $60 million on TSMC's second-quarter forecast. However, analysts believe the overall impact to be contained. Positive implications from the earthquake are anticipated for manufacturers of quartz tubes and wafers, such as TOPCO and Globalwafers.

TSMC has provided updates indicating that evacuated personnel have begun to return to their workstations. As a safety precaution, construction activities across Taiwan have been temporarily suspended pending assessment and subsequent resumption.

Evacuations were also reported at facilities within Zhunan Park, including those belonging to Innolux Corporation, PSMC, and TSMC's advanced packaging AP6 plant, among others. While some equipment underwent precautionary shutdowns, no abnormalities were reported.

In the semiconductor manufacturing hub, encompassing companies like TSMC, UMC, AUO Corporation, Macronix, and PSMC, personnel were evacuated during the earthquake, with some equipment undergoing preventive shutdowns. Nevertheless, there were no reports of abnormalities.

PSMC reported no injuries or interruptions in production lines, though they are currently inspecting for any damage to quartz furnace tubes or equipment.

KYEC reported no injuries, production interruptions, damage to quartz furnace tubes, equipment, or other disasters, with all personnel successfully evacuated.

Taimide Tech. Inc. reported no incidents, injuries, production interruptions, or equipment damage. All personnel have been safely evacuated. Additionally, manufacturers in Yilan Park and Hsinchu Biomedical Park reported normal operations. In Longtan Park, personnel were evacuated, and some machines underwent preventive shutdowns, but no abnormalities were reported.

Before the earthquake, a 4.2 magnitude quake struck near Chiayi County, Taiwan, at 3:26 am local time. After the 7:58 am earthquake, nearly 10 aftershocks ranging from magnitude 4.0 to 6.0 were recorded. The quake was strongly felt in Fujian, Zhejiang, and other areas, with a very wide impact range.

Following the earthquake, local meteorological departments issued tsunami warnings, urging residents in coastal areas to remain vigilant and strengthen precautions.