A string of earthquakes that hit the nation’s eastern coast yesterday represented a normal release of energy, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said.
Eight temblors struck the area between midnight and 3pm yesterday, ranging in magnitude from 3.5 to 5.2, bureau data showed.
There is no need to panic, as most of the tremors were energy releases from friction between the Philippine and the Eurasian tectonic plates, which is a common cause of earthquakes in Taiwan, it said.
Photo: EPA
While also normal, the biggest temblor among them — a magnitude 5.2 earthquake that jolted Yilan in the northeast at 10:17am — occurred because of an expansion of the Okinawa Trough, the bureau said.
Taiwan usually sees 30 earthquakes measuring 5 or higher each year, and yesterday’s temblor brought the number of quakes under that category this year to 21, bureau data showed.
Five of those exceeded magnitude 6, with the strongest a magnitude 6.4 quake that occurred on April 20 at sea about 80km off the coast of Hualien County.
In other news, the bureau said that Tropical Storm Koppu has continued to weaken in intensity as it moves toward Taiwan.
Koppu has been losing strength since making landfall on Luzon Island in the Philippines on Sunday, the bureau said, adding that it has been downgraded to a tropical storm.
As of yesterday morning, Koppu was centered about 570km south of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻). Koppu is likely to continue to move northward toward Taiwan after reaching Bashi Channel between today and tomorrow, the bureau said.
While chances are high that a sea warning for Koppu will be issued, further observation is needed to determine whether a land warning will be issued, the bureau said.
High waves caused by Koppu have begun to affect the nation’s eastern, northern and southwestern coastal areas, as well as the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), Green Island (綠島) and Orchid Island (蘭嶼, also known as Lanyu), the bureau said, adding that people should be careful while engaging in seaside activities.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
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