Close to 300 aftershocks have been reported in Hualien following a couple of large earthquakes on Sunday, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday.
As of 3pm yesterday, 46 of the aftershocks were felt as earthquakes, which were between 3 and 4 on the Richter Scale, the bureau said.
CWB Seismology Center Director Kuo Kai-wen (郭鎧紋) said the phenomenon was called an earthquake sequence.
PHOTO: CNA
“The earthquake sequence happened because the large earthquake caused a bigger rupture near the epicenter, which in turn triggered seismic activity nearby and thus a series of aftershocks,” Kuo said.
“All these aftershocks, however, are a normal release of seismic energy,” Kuo said. “Both the frequency and the force of aftershocks have reduced since Sunday.”
Kuo said the earthquake sequence was not a new phenomenon in the nation’s seismic history. He also disagreed with statements that the aftershocks were a sign of a large earthquake to come.
Statistics from the bureau showed that the first earthquake of the series occurred in Hualien at 9:26am on Sunday, with the epicenter located about 15km northeast of the bureau’s observation station in Hsiulin (秀林). It measured 4.4 on the Richter scale and induced a couple of aftershocks.
Another earthquake measuring 5.6 occurred at 5:34pm, which was the second-biggest earthquake this year. After that earthquake, Hualien continued to feel aftershocks at a frequency of two to four every hour.
Seventeen aftershocks occurred between 1am and 2am yesterday, measuring between 3 and 4 on the scale. The biggest aftershock occurred at 1:44pm on Sunday, measuring at 4.9.
In related news, Taroko Gorge National Park announced yesterday that rock falls caused by the earthquakes had affected a number of walking paths in the park.
For the safety of visitors, park authorities decided from today to close the Jhueilu Historic Trail (錐麓古道), Changchun Shrine Trail (長春祠步道), Skadang Trail (砂卡礑步道) and Swallow Grotto Trail (燕子口步道) walking paths for two days.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
A man in Tainan has been cleared on charges of public insult after giving the middle finger during a road rage incident, as judges deemed the gesture was made “briefly to express negative feelings.” In last week’s ruling at the High Court’s Tainan branch, judges acquitted a driver, surnamed Cheng (程), for an incident along Tainan’s Nanmen Road in September 2023, when Cheng had spotted a place to park his car in an adjacent lane. Cheng slowed down his vehicle to go into reverse, to back into the parking spot, but the car behind followed too closely, as its driver thought Cheng
DEFENSE: The purpose of the exercises is to identify strategies for the government to control risks during tensions, prevent war and bolster national resilience A tabletop exercise series has begun simulating possible scenarios if the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched a war against Taiwan in the guise of a military exercise. The exercise series is jointly organized by National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations, Taiwan Center for Security Studies and Asia-Pacific Policy Research Association. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Yeong-kang (陳永康), former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) director William Stanton and Taiwan Center for Security Studies director Liu Fu-kuo (劉復國) attended the event in Taipei yesterday. Scenarios that would be simulated include changing political circumstances in the US during US President Donald Trump’s tenure
RSS