Fifteen earthquakes had since Tuesday been detected in Hualien County’s Shoufong Township (壽豐), the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday, adding that more aftershocks could occur in the next seven days.
Seismology Center Director Chen Kuo-chang (陳國昌) said that the main earthquake occurred at 7:24pm on Wednesday.
It had a magnitude of 5.4, and its epicenter was 10km southwest of Hualien County Hall, he added.
Photo courtesy of the Hualien County Fire Department via CNA
After the main earthquake, the center recorded 12 aftershocks from Wednesday evening to yesterday morning, including a magnitude 5.4 aftershock at 6:11am yesterday, Chen said.
Two foreshocks were recorded: A magnitude 4.5 tremor at 6:26pm on Tuesday and a magnitude 4.2 tremor at 3:21am on Wednesday, he said.
Two of the 15 earthquakes recorded over the past three days had a magnitude above 5, five had a magnitude between 4 and 5, and eight had a magnitude between 3 and 4, Chen said.
More aftershocks might occur in the next seven days, he added.
As the strongest aftershock reached about the same magnitude as the series’ main earthquake, Chen said that the center is assessing whether both quakes should be recorded as the series’ main earthquake.
Shoufong is in a geologically fragmented area where the Philippine Sea Plate collides with the Euroasian Plate, Chen said, adding that the oceanic plate subducts northward under the continental plate.
Although the center frequently records tremors in Shoufong, Chen said that large earthquakes occur rarely in the township, with the largest in the past 48 years being a magnitude 6.5 earthquake in 1990.
Since 1973, 22 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5 or larger occurred in Shoufong, including the two this week, Chen said.
“Seismic energy is unlikely to accumulate in such a geologically fragmented zone,” he said. “The risk that an earthquake with a magnitude of 6 or larger occurs is very low.”
No damage was reported from this week’s earthquakes, Chen said.
However, frequent earthquakes could loosen rocks and soil in the area, which increases the risk of mudflows or landslides during typhoons or rainstorms, he added.
A similar series of 15 earthquakes occurred in the same area last month, Chen said, adding that the series’ main earthquake on June 11 had a magnitude of 5.4.
It was preceded by three foreshocks on June 10 and 11, with one of them reaching a magnitude of 5.1, Chen said.
Ten tremors were recorded on June 11 alone, followed by two on June 12 and three in the following days, on June 13, 14 and 18, he said.
FORCED TITLE: Most of the nation’s Olympians identify as Taiwanese, and a majority of them do not hail from Taipei, adding another layer of absurdity to the misnomer The sports world is to focus on the Tokyo Olympic Games starting on Friday, and once again Taiwanese will not have a “Team Taiwan” to cheer for, but will be stuck with the deceitful, contrived name of “Chinese Taipei.” It is a dishonest name, imposed by international politics under pressure from China and the International Olympic Committee, acquiesced to by the former lackeys on Taiwan’s Olympic committee. For a majority of Taiwanese, it is more fitting and simpler to shout “Go Taiwan!” (台灣加油). More people are saying that “Chinese Taipei” is a gross distortion and fraudulent representation for Taiwan’s star athletes in
‘FAILED TACTICS’: A lawmaker said Beijing’s actions in Hong Kong and Taiwan’s success at boosting its ties internationally have boosted identification as Taiwanese Self-identification as “Taiwanese and Chinese,” or solely as “Chinese,” has dropped to record lows, while 63.3 percent of the public regard themselves as Taiwanese, a survey released on Tuesday by National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center showed. Respondents identifying as Taiwanese and Chinese dropped to 31.4 percent, while those identifying solely as Chinese fell to 2.7 percent, the survey showed. The results reflect changes in attitudes since 1994 among Taiwanese toward independence and unification with China, as well as self-identification trends since 1992, commenters said. Support for independence was 25.8 percent, while about 5 percent of respondents said that they want the nation
The national Olympic team yesterday departed for Japan to compete in the Tokyo Games starting on Friday. The 134-strong Olympic delegation includes officials, support staff and 68 athletes, who are to compete in 18 sports through Aug. 8. Taiwan is competing in the Games under the name Chinese Taipei. The delegation is led by Taiwan’s top female weightlifter, Kuo Hsing-chun (郭婞淳), who is to carry the team flag at the opening ceremony. It also includes world No. 1 women’s singles badminton player Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎), as well as athletes who are to compete in cycling, taekwondo, judo, shooting, canoeing, rowing and archery
ONLY EXCEPTIONS: The mayors of the two largest cities voiced concerns over hidden cases, while all other local governments are to follow eased CECC guidelines All local governments, with the exception of Taipei and New Taipei City, are to allow dine-in services at restaurants after the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Friday announced that it would on Tuesday lower a nationwide COVID-19 alert to level 2. The center on July 8 allowed the resumption of dining at restaurants nationwide — despite keeping the alert level at 3. At the time, this prompted all cities and counties, except Penghu Country, to keep local dine-in bans in place. Following Friday’s CECC announcement that COVID-19 prevention measures would be further relaxed, the Taipei and New Taipei City governments
RSS