The nation was struck by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake and four large aftershocks yesterday, killing one person and damaging infrastructure and private properties in the north.
After the main earthquake hit at 9:42am, an aftershock measuring magnitude 5.0 occurred seven minutes later, with the two epicenters only 13.2km apart.
A magnitude 5.5 aftershock struck southeast of Hualien at 7:20pm, which was measured at Level 4 intensity along the east coast. At 7:45pm, a magnitude 5.8 aftershock hit, generating Level 3 tremors in Yilan, Hualien and New Taipei City. Another aftershock came 15 minutes afterward, which was measured at magnitude 5.7.
Photo: CNA
The Central Weather Bureau said the offshore earthquake occurred at 9:42am, with the epicenter identified as being near the east coast of Taiwan. It was categorized as a shallow earthquake, with the hypocenter 17.5km below the ground.
An 84-year-old man in Sinjhuang (新莊) died in a fire in his apartment building that was reportedly caused by an explosion of an electricity transformer box nearby. Another tenant in the building was injured in the fire.
The earthquake caused 11 cars to fall from a parking tower on Songjiang Road in Taipei, damaging some bebeyond repair.
Photo courtesy of the New Taipei City Fire Department
Flooding was reported in New Taipei City’s Shulin District (樹林) after the earthquake, due to a broken underground water pipeline.
The Ministry of Education reported damage to facilities in nine institutions, including five schools in Yilan and four schools in Taipei, New Taipei City, Tainan and Hualien City. The financial losses were estimated at more than NT$290,000.
While the earthquake did not damage railway tracks, it forced 32 trains in operation to temporarily reduce speed. About 8,000 passengers were delayed.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Statistics from the bureau showed the greatest intensity of shaking generated by the tremors, Level 4, was in Yilan and New Taipei City.
Meanwhile, Taipei, Hualien, Nantou, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Changhua, Taichung and Yunlin recorded Level 3 intensity. Intensity levels across the rest of the nation reached Level 2 and Level 1.
People in New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋) felt the strongest effects of the earthquake, with the earthquake continuing at Level 4 intensity for about 0.12 seconds. The shaking continued at Level 3 intensity for about 16 seconds and at Level 2 intensity for about 1 minute and 2 seconds, the bureau said.
Bureau seismology center director Kuo Kai-wen (郭鎧紋) explained why an earthquake occurring off the nation’s east coast would be felt so strongly in New Taipei City.
“The sediments in the soil in Banciao are thick, but soft, which amplifies the effects generated by earthquakes. The earthquake’s waves would have bounced back and forth in the Taipei Basin, making people in Taipei more aware of the tremors than in other regions of the nation,” he said.
Kuo said the earthquake yesterday morning occurred at the Nanao Sea Basin (南澳海盆), which is a major source of earthquakes in Taiwan.
He added that its epicenter was close to that of the magnitude 6.8 earthquake that occurred on March 31, 2002, which killed 15 people.
The earthquake yesterday morning was caused as the Philippine Plate was subducted north into the Eurasian Plate. It was the third earthquake this year with a magnitude of more than 6.
“We do not exclude the possibility that another earthquake measuring magnitude 6 or above would occur this year,” Kuo said.
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake occurred in December last year, the only magnitude 6 earthquake last year, he added.
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS