Residents living in the north and northeast should be well-prepared for powerful aftershocks, that could exceed five on the Richter scale, Central Weather Bureau seismologists said yesterday.
"In the following two weeks, some strong aftershocks of the earthquake will strike Taiwan," said Kuo Kai-wen (
"People should secure shop signs [and other large objects] and stay calm," Kuo said.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Yesterday's tremor, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, struck the island at 2:52pm, making it the strongest earthquake in the past 20 months. It was the strongest since a quake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck on July 16 in 2000.
Since the devastating 921 earthquake, which registered 7.3 on the Richter scale and claimed more than 2,400 lives, seismologists have reminded the public that minor earthquakes in Taiwan are a relatively common occurrence.
Yesterday, seismologists said that the earthquake resulted from a collision between the Philippine and Eurasian tectonic plates, which are in continuous motion relative to each other.
The greatest intensity of the quake was measured at Nanau (南澳) of Ilan, as six on Taiwan's unique scale of tremor-intensity measurement -- which classifies tremor-intensity into seven categories.
In Taipei, roughly 100km away from the epicenter, the intensity was measured as five, which is the same as that in Hualien. The epicenter was 44.3km east of the bureau's Hsioulin seismic monitoring station in Hualien County.
Seismologists said that a basin effect could explain why an earthquake occurring in Hualien could create such an impact in Taipei.
"The intensity of seismic waves was magnified when entering Taipei Basin, which is composed of soft sediment," said Chen Kuo-chang (
Chen said that a similar earthquake occurred near Hualien in November of 1986, leading to 13 deaths and 45 casualties in Taipei.
Another earthquake, registering 4.9 on the Richter scale, occurred at 4:02pm in Ilan yesterday. The epicenter was 16.7km east of the bureau's Nanau seismic monitoring station in Ilan County.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS