■Seismic activity
4.7 tremor rattles the east
An earthquake measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan yesterday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The quake struck at 11:25am with its epicenter 38.7km southeast of Hualien. It originated 28.1km under the seabed. The nation was hit by a powerful quake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale last Sept. 16. A tremor of the same magnitude on March 31 killed five people in Taipei. A quake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale devastated central Taiwan on Sept. 21, 1999, leaving 2,400 people dead and some 100,000 homeless.
■ Weather
Forecasters expect rain
A cold front is expected to arrive in Taiwan today, brining brief rain to northern, northeastern and eastern Taiwan, according to the Central Weather Bureau. Temperatures fall below 20℃ by tomorrow, the Bureau said. Yesterday's weather ranged from clear to cloudy with temperatures rising above 28℃ except on the outlying islands of Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu. The cold front may also cause heavy fog in some parts of western Taiwan as well as Kinmen and Matsu in the morning. Daytime temperatures will be around 19℃ in northern and northeastern Taiwan, and around 23℃ in central and eastern Taiwan.
■ Crime
Woman stabbed in Vietnam
A 38-year-old Taiwanese woman and her Vietnamese maid were stabbed to death in Vietnam's southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh city, police said yesterday. The bloody bodies of Tse Ho-yen and her 20-year-old housemaid were found on Saturday in Yen's apartment in the city's China town area, according to police. Police have seized a number of weapons including a variety of knives from the apartment, which had been ransacked. "We cannot provide further information because everything is under investigation and the autopsies are being carried out," she said, adding that police were alerted to the incident by the victims' neighbors. The neighbors said that the night before they heard a lot of noise and screams from the victims' apartment, then saw two women in their 20s hurriedly leaving the house, one of whom was wearing a blood-stained white blouse.
■ Environment
Climber starts fire
About 4.6 hectares of field near the Tanta Forest Road (丹大林道) in mountainous Hsinyi Township, Nantou County, were destroyed by fire yesterday. The fire was was inadvertently started by a mountain climber, according to the Council of Agriculture. According to Li Ju-shuen (李如順) of the COA's Taiwan Forestry Bureau, climber Lin Hsin-hsiung (林信雄), 33, lit a fire to warm himself on Saturday, but the fire inadvertently spread. He has been charged with violating the Forest Law and offences against public safety. To prevent the fire from spreading, the Taichung-based Airborne Squadron under the National Police Administration yesterday morning used B-234 helicopters to carry water from nearby Sun Moon Lake (日月潭). Officials said helicopters flew 13 water-discharge sorties to extinguish the blaze. About 17.5 tonnes of water can be carried with each sortie. Officials said that the fire caused limited financial losses because the blaze destroyed reeds, which have little economic value. The fire did not spread to valuable red cypress forest nearby. Dozens of forestry officials yesterday stayed at the scene of the fire to monitor the situation.
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