A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck far off the east coast at 7:05am on Tuesday, and was felt across the country, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The epicenter of the temblor was located at sea, about 120.2km east of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 5.7km, the agency said.
Photo courtesy of the CWA
The earthquake's intensity, which gauges its actual effect, was highest in Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Chiayi, Yunlin and Changhua counties and New Taipei City, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale, it said.
The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Taichung, Taipei, Keelung, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Chiayi, Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Nantou, Miaoli and Taitung counties, the CWA said.
As the epicenter was far from Taiwan, the intensity was limited, CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) said.
Additional shocks of magnitude 5.5 to 6 are possible in the coming five days, he added.
There are typically two to three quakes of magnitude 6 or above detected in the nation’s monitoring zone every year, Wu said, adding that Tuesday morning’s was the first for this year.
However, about 24 of greater than magnitude 5 occur on average, and this year has already seen 25, he added.
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