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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS