TAIPEI: Taiwan’s capital was rocked by a series of earthquakes overnight into early Tuesday, with the central weather bureau saying the strongest was a 6.3-magnitude quake earlier. Hualien.
According to the Central Meteorological Service, the first strong earthquake (magnitude 5.5) occurred at 5:08 pm (0908 GMT) on Monday. It can also be felt in the capital, Taipei.
According to Taipei AFP reporters and witnesses, two strong earthquakes hit back-to-back around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday (1830GMT) followed by a series of aftershocks and aftershocks.
“I was washing my hands when I suddenly felt dizzy,” tourist Olivier Bonifacio, who lives in Taipei’s Dan district, told AFP.
“I went into the room and the building was shaking and I heard the tables screeching,” he said, adding that he immediately realized it was another aftershock.
A 6.0-magnitude quake struck at 2:26 a.m., followed six minutes later by a 6.3-magnitude quake, the Central Weather Bureau said.
The US Geological Survey first gave a magnitude of 6.1, then 6.0.
Throughout Monday, AFP journalists were able to feel their buildings shake in the powerful earthquake, with one reporter saying “the sound was coming from the bathroom and the glass panels of the windows” as the island shook.
The Hualien region was the epicenter of the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck on April 3, triggering landslides that blocked roads around the mountainous area and severely damaged buildings in Hualien’s main urban area.
At least 17 people died in that earthquake, with the last body found in a mine on April 13.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Hualien Fire Department said it had sent a team to inspect the disaster situation caused by the new earthquake.
At 2:54 p.m., they issued a statement saying there were no reports of casualties.
Taiwan is located at the intersection of two major tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes.
The April 3 earthquake was followed by hundreds of aftershocks, causing rockfalls around Hualien.
It was the worst earthquake to hit Taiwan since a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in 1999. The death toll was high, with 2,400 people killed in the worst natural disaster in the island’s history.
Strict building regulations – including reinforcement Seismic requirements Building code provisions — and widespread public awareness of disaster preparedness — appear to have averted a worse disaster than the April 3 earthquake.
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