A magnitude 5.1 earthquake hit central Taiwan late on Saturday night, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday, adding that aftershocks of magnitude 3 to 4 could happen over the coming week.
The earthquake happened 29.4km south of Nantou County Hall at a depth of 15.1km at 11:23pm.
The largest intensity generated by the earthquake reached level 4, which was recorded in Nantou, Changhua, Yunlin and Chiayi counties as well as Chiayi City.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Bureau
Quakes with a focal depth of up to 30km are defined as “very shallow earthquakes,” the bureau said.
Although it is not uncommon for a magnitude 5 quake to occur in Taiwan, some Nantou residents were unnerved by Saturday’s earthquake, as they were about to go to bed. Some said the quake reminded them of the night of Sept. 21, 1999, when a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Taiwan, killing 2,456 people and injuring 10,718.
Residents of Tainan, Chiayi and Changhua also wrote on social media that they felt the earthquake, with some saying they heard the sound of subterranean rumbling.
Prior to the main earthquake at 11:23pm, two foreshocks of magnitude 3.3 occurred at 8:52pm and 9:59pm, the bureau’s Seismology Center said.
Four aftershocks with magnitudes of 3.1 to 3.6 occurred from 11:30pm to 2:17am, center data showed.
The seven quakes formed an earthquake series, the center said, adding that aftershocks of magnitude 3 to 4 could occur in the next five to seven days.
The main earthquake, which the center called medium-sized, occurred at a geologically fractured zone, rather than at a fault, the center said, adding that seismic activity at geologically fractured zones generally do not generate large earthquakes.
The earthquake’s hypocenter was not on a fault, the center said, adding that it had not detected many earthquakes in the area.
The last earthquake recorded in the area was a magnitude 5.6 quake that occurred at 10:20pm on Nov. 22, 2017, it said.
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