According to a recent update by NPR, a massive earthquake struck Taiwan, causing a cataclysmic event that affected the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, TSMC. The earthquake occurred near the eastern city of Hualien at 7:58AM local time, measuring a magnitude of 7.4, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. This is the strongest earthquake to hit the island in 25 years. TSMC was forced to evacuate staff and halt production as a result. While initial inspections showed no damage to the company’s buildings, regular work at the sites has been temporarily suspended. A statement has been issued by a company spokesperson.
“TSMC’s safety systems are operating normally. To ensure the safety of personnel, some fabs were evacuated according to company procedure. We are currently confirming the details of the impact.”
According to DigiTimes, TSMC’s N3 production plant experienced damage to its beams and columns, resulting in the halt of production lines. The EUV machines have been stopped and the R&D lab has also suffered damage with cracked walls. Further reports state that another fab in Hsinchu has also been affected, with broken pipelines. While the production line was stopped due to significant damage to wafers, the positive news is that work is expected to resume within six hours.
Despite implementing measures to reinforce its structures and mitigate potential damage from future earthquakes, TSMC is expected to suffer a loss of approximately $62 million, as reported by analysts. Although production may resume within a few hours, the extent of chip shipments affected by the earthquake has not been disclosed.
We will wait for an official statement from the foundry giant before giving any further information. According to Taiwanese media, the last earthquake with a magnitude of 7 or higher to hit the island was named ‘Jiji’ and it occurred on September 21, 1999 in the region.
Despite having a magnitude of 7.3, the earthquake caused destruction to thousands of buildings and claimed the lives of around 2,400 individuals. In light of this tragic event, let us observe a moment of silence and send our thoughts and well wishes to Taiwan and its citizens as they strive to recover from this traumatic experience.
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