Taiwan was shaken by a sequence of earthquakes on Monday and early Tuesday, the strongest with a magnitude of 6.3, partially toppling two buildings and conserving frightened residents up in a single day. The tremors have been aftershocks from the magnitude 7.3 quake that killed 17 folks three weeks in the past, the authorities stated.
The tremors started simply after 5 p.m. on Monday native time with a 5.5 magnitude quake in Hualien County on Taiwan’s east coast, in response to Wu Chien-fu, the director of the Taiwanese Central Climate Administration’s Seismological Heart. It was adopted by a sequence of smaller tremors some minutes later in the identical space.
Two buildings within the metropolis of Hualien partially collapsed, some residents have been evacuated and colleges and places of work in Hualien County have been ordered to shut on Tuesday due to the specter of persevering with tremors, according to local news outlets. No accidents or deaths had been reported by Tuesday morning.
Mr. Wu stated at a information convention on Monday night time that the quakes have been aftershocks from the lethal April 3 quake, which was the strongest to hit Taiwan in 25 years. The epicenter of that earthquake was additionally within the Hualien County space.
By Tuesday morning, greater than 180 shocks had been recorded within the earlier 24 hours, in response to the Central Climate Administration. The strongest have been at 2:26 a.m., at magnitude 6, off Taiwan’s japanese coast, and a pair of:32 a.m., at magnitude 6.3, about 10 miles from Hualien County. The most recent large tremor got here at about 8 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the Central Climate Administration.
Chen Mei-hui, 58, a retired saleswoman who lives in Hualien, stated the tremors had put her in a “very torturous temper.”
“I’ve been unable to sleep effectively for the reason that earthquake final month,” she stated on Tuesday morning. “We are able to solely pray that our home is robust sufficient to get us by this troublesome time.”
Chris Buckley contributed reporting.