The Central Weather Bureau yesterday denied that it had changed its measurement for an earthquake that occurred off the coast of Hualien on Sunday from magnitude 5.8 to magnitude 6.1.
“The United States Geological Survey uses the moment magnitude scale and said that the quake reached magnitude 6.1. We use the Richter scale. The two have different ways of measuring an earthquake’s magnitude,” Seismological Center Acting Director Chen Kuo-chang (陳國昌) said, explaining the discrepancy between the bureau’s measurement and that of the US agency.
As of 3pm yesterday, 61 aftershocks had been recorded since the main earthquake happened at 9:56pm on Sunday, center data showed.
Photo: EPA / David Chang
Two of the aftershocks reached magnitude 5, and 11 of them were between magnitude 4 and 5. The rest of the aftershocks were below magnitude 4.
People need to be careful about possible damage caused by the aftershocks, which are likely to continue for two weeks, Chen said, adding that some of the aftershocks could reach magnitude 4.
The main earthquake was triggered by the Philippine Sea Plate in the southeast subducting beneath the Eurasian Continental Plate in the northwest, Chen said.
It happened on a geological rupture zone, which is at the front end of the subduction zone, Chen said.
The rupture zone is in the coastal area between Yilan’s Nanao (南澳) and Hualien, which is why earthquakes happen frequently in this part of the nation, he said.
Chen said that what happened was not an “earthquake swarm,” adding that the term is being misused.
“When an earthquake swarm occurs, a group of earthquakes with very similar magnitudes happen successively within a short period around the same area. There might be a couple of relatively bigger earthquakes among them, but one can hardly distinguish between the main earthquake and aftershocks,” he said.
The main earthquake and its aftershocks can be called a seismic sequence, he said.
The bureau also has reservations about a claim by National Central University professor Lee Chyi-tyi (李錫堤), who said that the earthquake is a sign that the nation has entered a 100-year earthquake cycle, Chen said.
Two recorded magnitude 8 earthquakes happened in Taiwan in the 20th century, one in 1910 off the coast of Yilan and the other in 1920 off the coast of Hualien, Lee said.
As we are approaching the 100-year mark since the last magnitude 8 earthquake, there is a very high probability that another earthquake of similar magnitude might happen within the next decade, Lee said.
“We respect the opinions of different researchers. However, the nation started collecting earthquake data only about 100 years ago and we have reservations about calling this a ‘100-year earthquake cycle,’” Chen said.
Most seismologists believe that magnitude 8 earthquakes are likely to happen around the Ryukyu Trench, which is about 500km to 600km from Hualien, within 10 years, Chen added.
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
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
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation
Taiwan and the US have begun trade negotiations over tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump earlier this month, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said in an interview this morning before reporting to the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), Taiwan’s de facto embassy in the US, has already established communication channels with the US Department of State and the US Trade Representative (USTR), and is engaging in intensive consultations, he said. Points of negotiation include tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and issues related to investment, procurement and export controls, he
RSS