A second major earthquake struck Hualien County this afternoon, just hours after another powerful temblor hit this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
There have been no immediate reports of major damage or injuries, but the back-to-back quakes renewed safety concerns in areas still recovering from the catastrophic failure of a barrier lake along the Mataian River (馬太鞍) during Typhoon Ragasa on Sept. 23.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency confirmed that the lake's dam and water level remained stable after the first quake earlier this morning.
The situation after the second temblor was still being assessed as of press time.
The latest quake, measuring magnitude 5, occurred at 11:33am, with its epicenter located 68.4km southeast of Hualien County Hall at a depth of 28.9km.
The tremor registered an intensity level of 3 in parts of Hualien and neighboring Taitung County.
It followed an earlier magnitude 5 quake at 7:52am, centered in Jian Township (吉安) about 6.9km west of Hualien County Hall at a shallow depth of 6.1km, CWA data showed.
CWA seismologists said the two quakes were independent events, occurring about 70km apart, and cautioned that aftershocks of magnitude 4 to 4.5 could occur over the next three days as regional stress continues to adjust.
Both quakes were caused by the subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate, seismologists said.
Jian Township often experiences magnitude 5 earthquakes, but the offshore region affected by the later quake has fewer such events, they added.
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