AFTER SHOOTS POSSIBLE:
A hiker was injured by falling rocks in Taroko National Park while a tower crane was damaged at a construction site in New Taipei City
-
By Chen Hsin-yu and William Hetherington / Staff Reporter, with Staff Writer and CNA
Several people were injured, buildings damaged and transports interrupted in a series of earthquakes yesterday.
A 4.5 magnitude earthquake struck 5 miles northeast of Hualien County Hall at 12:38 p.m. at a depth of 14 miles, the Central Weather Bureau website showed.
At 1:11 p.m., a magnitude 6.5 quake followed near Nanao Township (南澳) in Yilan County at a depth of 66.8 km.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Bureau
Less than a minute later, a 5.4 magnitude earthquake followed with its epicenter near Datong Township (大同) at a depth of 67.3 km.
Another quake with a magnitude of 4.2 shook Nanao at 2:05 p.m. at a depth of 63 km.
The 6.5 magnitude earthquake was the strongest in Taiwan that year. Its intensity, which measures actual impact, reached 4 on the country’s 7-point intensity scale in northern and northeastern Taiwan.
Photo courtesy of a reader via CNA
One woman in a group of nine hikers was injured by falling rocks in Taroko National Park in Hualien County.
One vehicle was damaged by falling rocks along the Suhua Highway, but no injuries were reported.
The Taipei City Fire Department reported damage to several residential buildings, including a water tower and free-standing eaves in the Wenshan district (文山).
Photo courtesy of a reader via CNA
The larger earthquakes also damaged a tower crane in the Sinjhuang (新 莊) district of New Taipei City, causing its boom to bend 90 degrees.
Some train and MRT services have been stopped to allow the cars to be evacuated so that the teams can conduct maintenance and security checks.
Taiwan Power Co (台電) said the quakes triggered seismic alarm systems at the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in Shihmen District in New Taipei City (石門) and at the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in Wanli District in New Taipei City (萬里), but the facilities did not stop damage .
Photo courtesy of the New Taipei City Government Public Works Bureau
Aftershocks of magnitude 4 or greater are expected in the next three days, the office said.
Chen Kuo-chang (陳國昌), director of the Bureau Seismology Center, said the center’s initial assessment was that the 5.4 magnitude earthquake was an aftershock of the 6.5 magnitude earthquake.
The 6.5 magnitude earthquake was the largest since 1973 in the subduction zone 40 km underground, Chen said.
The energy of the quake was released quickly and lasted only a short time as it happened in a subduction zone, he said.
“We could see more aftershocks of magnitude 4 or greater in the next three days, but there is nothing to worry about,” he added.
There have been more earthquakes of magnitude 5 or more this year than in the past two years, Chen said.
“The number of earthquakes in the past two years has been a little small, so the larger number this year is likely due to an energy jam waiting to be released,” said Chen. “There is nothing to worry about.”
The effects of yesterday’s earthquakes are felt far from their epicentres due to their depth, he said.
Most of northern Taiwan experienced level 4 earthquakes from the two larger earthquakes that were insufficient to cause structural damage, he said, adding that buildings are generally damaged from level 5 upwards.
In other developments, the office said northern Taiwan is expected to have dry and warmer weather from today through Wednesday as seasonal winds weaken after several days of rain.
Bureau forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉 沛滕) said a tropical depression over waters east of the Philippines could turn into a tropical storm last night, but added that it would not threaten Taiwan.
Comments are moderated. Keep comments relevant to the article. Comments with offensive and obscene language, personal attacks of any kind or advertising will be removed and the user will be blocked. The final decision is at the discretion of the Taipei Times.
Comments are closed.