A magnitude 6.1 earthquake occurred in the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, which was felt along the west coast of Taiwan proper and the outlying counties of Penghu and Kinmen.
The earthquake struck at 7:57am at a depth of 20.5km, with its epicenter 101.9km west of the Penghu County Government building in Magong City (馬公), Central Weather Bureau data showed.
The highest intensity generated by the quake was level 3, which was felt in Tainan, as well Penghu, Kinmen, Yunlin, Chiayi and Changhua counties, the data showed.
It generated level 2 tremors in Kaohsiung, Taichung and Nantou County, and an intensity of level 1 in New Taipei City, and Hualien, Taitung, Pingtung and Lienchiang counties, the data showed.
A magnitude 4.7 aftershock hit at 8:15am at a depth of 18km, bureau data showed.
Its epicenter was 102.4km west of the Penghu County Government building. The largest intensity generated by the aftershock was level 2, which was felt in Magong City.
The quakes occurred due to stress adjustment on the Eurasian Plate, Seismology Center section chief Lin Tzu-wei (林祖慰) said, adding that the energy was released through a fragmented part of the tectonic plate after accumulating in the region for a long time.
Earthquakes are rare in the area around the epicenter, Lin said, adding that the last time an earthquake was recorded there was on Sept. 16, 1994, when a magnitude 6.4 earthquake occurred.
Magnitude 4 to magnitude 5 aftershocks can be expected in the region over the next one to two weeks, but the number of aftershocks would be fewer than those following earthquakes in other regions, Lin said.
A majority of earthquakes in Taiwan occur off the east coast.
Yesterday’s earthquake was also felt in Xiamen, China, and Hong Kong.
No death or injuries were reported in any of the affected areas.
The Chinese-language Apple Daily’s Hong Kong edition said that the main earthquake was felt in Tsuen Wan, Tun Mun and Kowloon districts.
The Xiamen Daily posted a video on its Web site showing students running out of a school building toward a sports field when the earthquake struck.
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