People should be prepared for further damage caused by aftershocks following a magnitude 6.8 earthquake at 2:44pm yesterday, although its aftershocks are expected to be of smaller magnitude and occur less frequently than yesterday’s quakes, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday.
Bureau data showed that the quake’s epicenter was 42.7km north of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 7km, which is within Taitung’s Chihshang Township (池上).
The magnitude 6.8 quake, the strongest recorded this year, occurred as the nation was recovering from damage caused by a magnitude 6.4 temblor on Saturday night, with its epicenter in Guanshan Township (關山).
Photo provided by the Executive Yuan
That quake was one of the 73 foreshocks of yesterday’s earthquake, CWB Seismological Center Director Chen Kuo-chang (陳國昌) told reporters.
Yesterday’s quake is also the eighth with a magnitude exceeding 6 this year, Chen said, adding that it could be ranked the sixth or seventh-largest earthquake in Taiwan’s seismic history, following the 921 Earthquake in 1999 and the large aftershocks that followed.
Although few earthquakes have occurred in the past 50 years near the epicenters of this weekend’s quakes, they originated from the inner part of where the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate touch, Chen said.
Compared with the outer side, which is off the coast of Taitung’s Chenggong Township (成功), the inner side has a more rigid rock formation, where earthquakes happen less frequently, he said.
The seismic energy that has accumulated on the inner side of the plates’ meeting point over the past five decades was first released through the magnitude 6.4 earthquake on Saturday, which has likely been balanced by the main earthquake yesterday.
“We cannot predict the occurrences of earthquakes. Theoretically, however, the aftershocks should be of smaller magnitude compared to that of the main earthquake. I estimate that aftershocks are not likely to occur as frequently as the foreshocks. The number of aftershocks exceeding magnitude 5 will also be fewer than the foreshocks,” Chen said.
An aftershock of magnitude 5.4 occurred shortly after yesterday’s earthquake, he added.
A similar situation occurred in 2018, when a magnitude 6.32 earthquake on the Milun Fault triggered an aftershock of magnitude 5.92, he said.
“The Milun Fault is a geologically fragmented zone, and the seismic activities on the zone generated activities in other geological zones from the north to south, as well as from land to sea. The aftershocks lasted about a month, with the number reaching 30 per hour, or three to four per day,” he said, adding that the frequency of aftershocks from this weekend’s quake would not reach that number.
The public warning system for natural disasters functioned normally yesterday, with residents in eight cities and counties south of Chiayi County receiving warnings 10 seconds before the main earthquake, Chen said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) urged people to be vigilant for further aftershocks in the coming hours.
“Water and electricity supplies in some areas have also been affected by the earthquake,” she wrote on Facebook. “The related disaster relief work is in full swing.”
Additional reporting by AFP
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
Speeding and badly maintained roads were the main causes of a school bus accident on a rainy day in Taipei last year that severely injured two people and left 22 with minor injuries, the Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board said. On March 11 last year, a Kang Chiao International School bus overturned inside the Wenshan Tunnel (文山隧道) on the northbound lane of the Xinyi Expressway. The tour bus, owned by Long Lai Co, exceeded the speed limit after entering the tunnel, the board’s investigation found. Sensing that the rear of the vehicle was swaying, the driver attempted to use the service and exhaust
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President