Taiwan’s capital city experienced a series of earthquakes overnight, culminating in a powerful magnitude-6.3 tremor originating near Hualien in eastern Taiwan.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) reported the first significant quake, a magnitude 5.5, struck Monday evening at 5:08 pm local time (0908 GMT) and was felt in Taipei.
A series of aftershocks and additional quakes followed, with two particularly strong tremors hitting consecutively around 2:30 am Tuesday.
Residents in Taipei described feeling buildings sway and furniture creak during the shaking.
The CWA recorded the stronger of these later tremors at magnitude 6.3, while the US Geological Survey (USGS) measured it at magnitude 6.0. Both organizations reported an earlier magnitude 6.0 (CWA) or 6.1 (USGS) quake just minutes before.
Numerous smaller tremors continued throughout the night, originating in the Hualien region according to the CWA.
This latest seismic activity comes just weeks after a devastating magnitude-7.4 earthquake struck Hualien on April 3rd. That quake caused landslides, blocked roads, and heavily damaged buildings in Hualien City.
The death toll from the April 3rd quake currently stands at 17, with the latest victim recovered from a quarry on April 13th.
Hualien’s fire department reported deploying teams to assess any damage from the latest quakes. As of 2:54 am Tuesday, they have confirmed no casualties.
Taiwan, located at the meeting point of two tectonic plates, experiences frequent earthquakes.
The April 3rd quake was the strongest since a magnitude-7.6 earthquake struck the island in 1999, killing over 2,400 people in the deadliest natural disaster in Taiwan’s history.
Stricter building codes and widespread public awareness of earthquake preparedness are believed to have mitigated the impact of the April 3rd quake and the recent tremors.
