Aftershocks from a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 3:45pm yesterday could reach a magnitude of 5 to 5.5, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
Seismological Center technical officer Chiu Chun-ta (邱俊達) told a news conference that the epicenter of the temblor was more than 100km from Taiwan.
Although predicted to measure between magnitude 5 and 5.5, the aftershocks would reach an intensity of 1 on Taiwan’s 7-tier scale, which gauges the actual effect of an earthquake, he said.
Photo: CNA
The earthquake lasted longer in Taipei because the city is in a basin, he said.
The quake’s epicenter was about 128.9km east-southeast of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 88.1km, CWA data showed.
Its intensity was highest in Yilan, Hualien, Nantou and Taitung counties, as well as Taichung, where it had a local intensity of 3.
In New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan, Keelung and Chiayi City, as well as Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Changhua and Yunlin counties, it had a local intensity of 2.
The quake was caused by the Philippine Sea plate subducting beneath the Eurasian plate in the north, Chiu said.
The temblor was unrelated to a magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia on Wednesday last week, he said.
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