The nation was shaken by two earthquakes exceeding magnitude 5 yesterday, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday.
The first one, a magnitude 5.1 temblor, occurred at 4:19am, at a depth of 132.5km in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮), bureau data showed.
The largest intensity generated by the quake reached level 2, which was recorded in New Taipei City, Toucheng Township (頭城) in Yilan County, Sibao (西寶) in Hualien County and Lishan (梨山) in Taichung.
A level 1 intensity was recorded in Yilan City, Taipei, Hohuanshan in Nantou County and three other localities.
The earthquake also triggered the national public warning system, which issued a presidential alert message and caused the emergency alarms on people’s smartphones to go off.
The second one, a magnitude 5.2 quake, occurred at 12:32pm, with the epicenter 44.1km south of the Hualien County Government building and at a depth of 35.7km, the bureau said.
The largest intensity reached level 4, which was recorded in Jichi (磯崎) in Hualien County.
The two earthquakes were not related, Seismological Center Director Chen Kuo-chang (陳國昌) said.
The epicenter of the quake in Gongliao was on the subduction zone between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate, and it occurred as a result of the collision and extrusion of the two plates, Chen said, adding that similar quakes had happened in the same region.
Aftershocks after the earthquake are expected to be very few in the next few days, because the epicenter was more than 100km underground, he said.
The earthquake in Hualien also occurred because of the collision between the two main tectonic plates, Chen said, adding that the epicenter was near the coast of Hualien, where earthquakes frequently occur.
Bureau data showed that 32 earthquakes exceeding magnitude 5 have been recorded in the zone since 2000, including a magnitude 5 temblor on Feb. 15, he said.
People in Hualien and Taitung should beware of one to two aftershocks of magnitude 4 or more occurring in the next three days, he said.
The magnitude 5.1 earthquake did not affect the operation of the Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao, the Atomic Energy Council said in a statement.
Chen added that the public warning system should not have sent out an alert for the magnitude 5.1 earthquake, as the largest intensity it generated did not reach level 3 to level 4.
The computer appeared to have trouble reading information from an earthquake located at a deep subduction zone, which the bureau would try to address, he said.
The bureau apologized for the inconvenience caused by the confusion, it said.
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS