A magnitude 5 earthquake that struck central Taiwan at 11:49pm on Saturday was not related to the 921 Earthquake in 1999, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday, adding that aftershocks of magnitude 3 to 4 might occur during the next two weeks.
The quake’s epicenter was 23.4km southeast of the Nantou County Government Hall at a depth of 18.2km, bureau data showed.
An intensity level of 4 was measured in Nantou, Yunlin and Changhua counties.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Bureau
Saturday night’s quake was triggered by movement within a deep and geologically fractured zone, said Lin Tzu-wei (林祖慰), a specialist at the bureau’s seismological center.
Its origin was different from the magnitude 7.3 earthquake that occurred on Sept. 21, 1999, which was caused by movement in the Chelungpu Fault (車籠埔斷層), Lin said.
The quake’s epicenter was about 20km away from that of the 921 Earthquake, he added.
“The 921 Earthquake’s epicenter was only 8km below the surface, but the epicenter of Saturday night’s quake was 18km deep,” Lin said.
“Unlike the 921 Earthquake, which exposed a fractured surface, Saturday night’s earthquake was a point earthquake, and we believe that these two events are not related,” he said.
Since the 921 Earthquake, tremors reaching magnitude 5 have happened every few years, Lin said.
Meanwhile, a magnitude 4.6 quake struck eastern Taiwan at 7:32am yesterday.
The tremor’s epicenter was 13.8km southeast of the Yilan County Hall at a depth of 52.7km, with an intensity level of 3, Lin said.
“The cause of the earthquake is related to the subduction of the Eurasian Plate by the Philippine Sea Plate. Such seismic energy release happens occasionally in this area, and aftershocks would have little effect on the nation,” he said.
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