Magnitude 5.5 to 6 aftershocks might hit Taiwan in the coming days after a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck off the east coast yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
The earthquake, which occurred at 7:05am about 120.2km east of Hualien County Hall at a depth of 5.7km, could trigger aftershocks within five days, because temblors of magnitude 6 or higher often do not release all of their energy in a single event, CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) said.
However, the impact of the aftershocks on Taiwan should be limited, as they would likely be centered far from the nation and be lower in intensity, Wu said.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
As of 11:30am yesterday, there had already been a magnitude 5.1 aftershock centered close to where the original quake struck, but its intensity, the measure of how hard the ground actually shakes in a given location, did not exceed the lowest level — level 1 — anywhere in Taiwan.
Tuesday’s earthquake was likely caused by subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate, Wu said.
It was also the first magnitude 6 or higher earthquake recorded in the vicinity of Taiwan so far this year. The previous biggest was a magnitude 5.8 quake in Hualien County on Oct. 11.
Taiwan has averaged two to three earthquakes of magnitude 6 or higher a year over the past 20 years, Wu said.
There are an average of 24 magnitude 5 quakes per year, Wu said, adding that Taiwan has already experienced 25 this year.
While there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries after yesterday’s earthquake, the Taiwan Railways Administration as a precaution reduced train speeds to 30kph to 60kph in several areas in north, northeast and central Taiwan, leading to a total of 381 minutes of delays, with 3,400 passengers on 18 trains affected, the agency said.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its