A series of earthquakes yesterday injured several people, damaged buildings and disrupted transportation.
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 8km northeast of Hualien County Hall at 12:38pm at a depth of 23.8km, the Central Weather Bureau’s Web site showed.
It was followed at 1:11pm by a magnitude 6.5 quake centered near Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳) at a depth of 66.8km.
Photo courtesy of Central Weather Bureau
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake followed less than a minute later, with its epicenter near the county’s Datong Township (大同), at a depth of 67.3km.
A magnitude 4.2 quake again struck Nanao at 2:05pm at a depth of 63km.
The magnitude 6.5 earthquake was the strongest quake recorded in Taiwan this year. Its intensity, which measures its actual effect, reached 4 on the nation’s 7-tier intensity scale in northern and northeastern Taiwan.
Photo courtesy of a reader via CNA
A woman among a group of nine hikers was hurt by falling rocks at the Taroko National Park in Hualien County.
A 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 properties, including a water tower and detached eaves in Wenshan District (文山).
Photo courtesy of a reader via CNA
The bigger earthquakes also damaged a tower crane in New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District (新莊), causing its jib to bend 90 degrees.
Some train and MRT services were halted so that carriages could be evacuated for teams to perform maintenance and safety checks.
Taiwan Power Co (台電) said the quakes triggered seismic alert systems at the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shihmen District (石門) and the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里), but the plants did not sustain damage.
Photo courtesy of the New Taipei City Government Public Works Department
Aftershocks of magnitude 4 or greater are expected over the next three days, the bureau said.
Bureau Seismology Center Director Chen Kuo-chang (陳國昌) said the center’s initial assessment was that the magnitude 5.4 earthquake was an aftershock of the magnitude 6.5 quake.
The magnitude 6.5 earthquake was the largest quake recorded since 1973 in the subduction zone 40km underground, Chen said.
The quake’s energy was released quickly and it lasted a short time, because it occurred in a subduction zone, he said.
“We might see more aftershocks of magnitude 4 or greater over the next three days, but there is no cause for concern,” he added.
There have been more earthquakes of magnitude 5 or greater this year than in the past two years, Chen said.
“The number of earthquakes over the past two years was a bit on the low side, so the greater number this year is likely due to a buildup of energy that was waiting to be released,” Chen said. “It is nothing to be worried about.”
The effects of yesterday’s earthquakes were felt far from their epicenters due to their depth, he said.
Most of northern Taiwan experienced level 4 tremors from the two bigger earthquakes, which were not enough to cause structural damage, he said, adding that generally buildings are damaged at level 5 or higher.
In other developments, the bureau said dry and warmer weather is expected in northern Taiwan from today to Wednesday as seasonal winds weaken, following several days of rain.
Bureau forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said a tropical depression over the waters east of the Philippines could become a tropical storm yesterday evening, but added that it would not threaten Taiwan.
‘UNPRECEDENTED’: Taiwan’s envoy said that official wording framing Taiwan-China issues as not about unification or independence counters the narrative Beijing wants Use of the phrase “democratic Taiwan” by Germany’s new coalition government in official document shows that Taiwan-China issues are not about “independence” against “unification,” but about democracy against authoritarianism, Representative to Germany Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) said yesterday. Germany’s Social Democratic Party, Free Democratic Party and the Greens — known as the “traffic light coalition” for their colors — on Wednesday inked a coalition agreement following elections on Sept. 26. The agreement, a blueprint for their governance for the next four years, mentions “Taiwan,” which is unprecedented, showing that the new German government is paying close attention to cross-strait peace and supports Taiwan’s
BIDEN NOD: A China watcher said that the inclusion of Taiwan is notable, as it is the only democratic state on the list that Washington does not officially recognize Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳) and Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) are to attend the US-led Summit for Democracy on Dec. 9 and 10, the government said yesterday, after US President Joe Biden announced the list of guests for the virtual event. The US Department of State on Tuesday announced a list of 110 invited participants, including Taiwan, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan and the UK. China and Russia were not invited, and Beijing expressed anger at the decision to invite Taiwan. The summit is to revolve around three key themes: Defending against authoritarianism, addressing and fighting
‘BADGE OF HONOR’: Lithuanian lawmaker Dovile Sakaliene, who is on China’s travel ban list, said delegation members joked that they would be joining her on it soon A delegation led by the chairman of the Lithuanian Parliamentary Group for Relations with Taiwan yesterday arrived in Taipei to participate in a conference on democracy later this week. The group, led by Matas Maldeikis, a Lithuanian lawmaker and an outspoken critic of China, touched down at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 6:18am yesterday. Maldeikis said at the airport that he expected the trip to enhance understanding between Taiwan and Lithuania after cooperation between the two sides took a big step forward this past year. “This trip will be another step in understanding each other because we are dealing with the same challenges,”
GET A BOOST: After considering the potential for local outbreaks amid an increase in cases abroad, a committee recommended adolescents receive their second shots The level 2 COVID-19 alert is to be extended until Dec. 13, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced yesterday, as it advised people in six high-risk groups to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. It also recommended that adolescents aged 12 to 17 who had a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine receive a second shot. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that the nationwide level 2 alert would remain in place for two more weeks from today. Chen said that during New Year’s events eating and drinking might be allowed in designated areas, while
RSS