Meanwhile, questions have been raised about whether it'll work to copy Japan's earthquake alert system here in Taiwan. And the Central Weather Bureau admits that given the island's relatively small size, the system may not work as effectively as it does in Japan, but efforts are being made to tackle the problem.

The earthquake rapid reporting system in use in Japan transmits live tremor data to Japan's mass media, public venues, and the general public.

According to the Central Weather Bureau, Taiwan's detection and reporting facilities transmit data to the CWB within 20 to 30 seconds of a tremor.

As the information has to be manually confirmed before it is broadcasted to the media, the public doesn't receive the information until three to five minutes after an earthquake.

The CWB says that it is testing a new system that would transmit live data to disaster prevention units so that the units can react as quickly as possible.

The farther an area is from the epicenter of the earthquake, the more response time there will be.

Due to Taiwan's small geographic size, impact is limited within a 100-kilometer range.

According to the CWB, live information cannot be directly broadcasted to the public until relevant telecommunications platforms become available.