A series of earthquakes yesterday injured several people, damaged buildings and disrupted transportation.
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 8km northeast of Hualien County Hall at 12:38pm at a depth of 23.8km, the Central Weather Bureau’s Web site showed.
It was followed at 1:11pm by a magnitude 6.5 quake centered near Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳) at a depth of 66.8km.
Photo courtesy of Central Weather Bureau
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake followed less than a minute later, with its epicenter near the county’s Datong Township (大同), at a depth of 67.3km.
A magnitude 4.2 quake again struck Nanao at 2:05pm at a depth of 63km.
The magnitude 6.5 earthquake was the strongest quake recorded in Taiwan this year. Its intensity, which measures its actual effect, reached 4 on the nation’s 7-tier intensity scale in northern and northeastern Taiwan.
Photo courtesy of a reader via CNA
A woman among a group of nine hikers was hurt by falling rocks at the Taroko National Park in Hualien County.
A vehicle was damaged by falling rocks along the Suhua Highway, but no injuries were reported.
The Taipei City Fire Department reported damage to several residential properties, including a water tower and detached eaves in Wenshan District (文山).
Photo courtesy of a reader via CNA
The bigger earthquakes also damaged a tower crane in New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District (新莊), causing its jib to bend 90 degrees.
Some train and MRT services were halted so that carriages could be evacuated for teams to perform maintenance and safety checks.
Taiwan Power Co (台電) said the quakes triggered seismic alert systems at the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shihmen District (石門) and the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里), but the plants did not sustain damage.
Photo courtesy of the New Taipei City Government Public Works Department
Aftershocks of magnitude 4 or greater are expected over the next three days, the bureau said.
Bureau Seismology Center Director Chen Kuo-chang (陳國昌) said the center’s initial assessment was that the magnitude 5.4 earthquake was an aftershock of the magnitude 6.5 quake.
The magnitude 6.5 earthquake was the largest quake recorded since 1973 in the subduction zone 40km underground, Chen said.
The quake’s energy was released quickly and it lasted a short time, because it occurred in a subduction zone, he said.
“We might see more aftershocks of magnitude 4 or greater over the next three days, but there is no cause for concern,” he added.
There have been more earthquakes of magnitude 5 or greater this year than in the past two years, Chen said.
“The number of earthquakes over the past two years was a bit on the low side, so the greater number this year is likely due to a buildup of energy that was waiting to be released,” Chen said. “It is nothing to be worried about.”
The effects of yesterday’s earthquakes were felt far from their epicenters due to their depth, he said.
Most of northern Taiwan experienced level 4 tremors from the two bigger earthquakes, which were not enough to cause structural damage, he said, adding that generally buildings are damaged at level 5 or higher.
In other developments, the bureau said dry and warmer weather is expected in northern Taiwan from today to Wednesday as seasonal winds weaken, following several days of rain.
Bureau forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said a tropical depression over the waters east of the Philippines could become a tropical storm yesterday evening, but added that it would not threaten Taiwan.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique