The magnitude 5.1 earthquake that hit Nantou County yesterday morning was an isolated event, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA), but warned of possible aftershocks measuring between magnitude 4 and 4.5 for the next week.
According to the agency, the earthquake struck at 8:46am at a depth of 15.5km. The epicenter was located 33.5km east-northeast of Nantou County Hall, in Puli Township, where it was rated a 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier scale.
CWA’s Seismological Center section chief Chen Da-yi (陳達毅) said at a news conference that the earthquake was caused by collision of the Philippine Sea Plate with the Eurasian Plate.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
The temblor’s epicenter was located in an area with relatively active seismic activity, where long-term stress accumulation and fracturing in geological formations triggered the quake, Chen said.
He said that the Seismological Center issued national-level alerts for Nantou County, Changhua County and Taichung in response to the earthquake.
“Although the earthquake registered an intensity of 4 near the epicenter, the shaking did not last long,” Chen said.
The seismologist added that the quake has been regarded as a single, isolated seismic event. However, he cautioned that aftershocks measuring between magnitude 4 and 4.5 could still occur during the next week.
Chen said that since 2000, there have been 15 earthquakes of magnitude 5 or above within a 30-kilometer radius of yesterday’s epicenter, with the previous one occurring in 2021.
While yesterday’s earthquake did not occur in an area without a history of seismic activity, under such conditions where seismic activity already exists, stress accumulation in relatively fragile geological zones can cause deformation, Chen said. When the stress exceeds what the rocks can withstand, ruptures occur and energy is released, he said.
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