A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone.
Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said.
In Hualien, the shaking lasted 21 seconds, while in Taipei, New Taipei City, Hsinchu, Taoyuan and Miaoli it lasted about 10 seconds, said Chen Da-yi (陳達毅), a section chief at the CWA’s Seismological Center.
Data on the CWA Web site showed that one aftershock struck yesterday at 00:45am, with a magnitude of 4.7 at a depth of about 60.8km.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
The other occurred at 10:55am with a magnitude of 3.8 a depth of about 66.5km.
The difference from last year’s Hualien quake, which was followed by frequent aftershocks, is due to depth and tectonic setting, CWA Seismological Center director Wu Chien-fu said.
The Hualien quake was a shallow fault-zone event, occurring at 15.5km deep, while Saturday’s Yilan quake was a subduction-zone earthquake caused by the Philippine Sea Plate subducting northward beneath the Eurasian Plate, Wu said.
Such deep earthquakes generate fewer aftershocks and weaker surface shaking, he added.
Wu cautioned residents to remain alert, as aftershocks in the magnitude 5.5 to 6.0 range are still possible over the coming week.
The quake was among the strongest to hit Taiwan in the past few decades, following the magnitude 7.3 earthquake in Nantou County in 1999 and last year’s Hualien quake, the CWA said.
As Saturday’s quake occurred offshore and at significant depth, it was widely felt and shook for a long duration, but was less likely to cause severe damage, it said.
Damage from the quake was largely repaired across northern Taiwan by yesterday, with authorities reporting only minor incidents and no injuries.
Taoyuan International Airport Corp (桃園國際機場公司) said lightweight ceiling debris that fell in waiting lounge areas C1, C5 and C7, and at baggage carousel areas in Terminal 2 has been cleared, adding that two passengers were struck by falling materials, but no one was injured.
Repairs have been completed, and airport operations remain normal, it said.
The Hsinchu Science Park Administration said some companies in the Yilan, Longtan and Hsinchu parks evacuated staff.
Power and water supplies at the Hsinchu park area remained normal, although elevator malfunctions were reported at two buildings, with repairs under way, it said.
The earthquake caused a fault at Yilan County’s Dongao (東澳) substation, leading to a power outage affecting 3,465 households, but power was restored in about 10 minutes, the county government said.
Fallen rocks were reported on a slope along the access road to Cingshuei Geothermal Park (清水地熱公園), but traffic resumed after clearance work, it said.
The Taipei City Government said it received 39 incident reports, all classified as minor.
Cases included nine gas leaks, 14 water outages and leaks, one damaged traffic signal, six instances of minor building damage, two wall collapses, and two cases of people temporarily trapped in elevators.
The New Taipei City Government reported six incidents, including falling tiles, a water pipeline rupture, ground cracking, groundwater seepage and a landslide, with no casualties.
The Taoyuan Fire Department said it received one report of people trapped in an elevator, an incident that was resolved without injury.
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