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 protecting frightened residents up in a single day. The tremors had 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 keeping with Wu Chien-fu, the director of the Taiwanese Central Weather Administration’s Seismological Center. 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 had been evacuated and colleges and workplaces in Hualien County had been ordered to shut on Tuesday due to the specter of persevering with tremors, in keeping with native information shops. No accidents or deaths had been reported by Tuesday morning.
Mr. Wu stated at a information convention on Monday night time that the quakes had 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 keeping with the Central Weather Administration. The strongest had been at 2:26 a.m., at magnitude 6, off Taiwan’s jap coast, and a couple of:32 a.m., at magnitude 6.3, about 10 miles from Hualien County. The newest massive tremor got here at about 8 a.m. on Tuesday, in keeping with the Central Weather Administration.
Chen Mei-hui, 58, a retired saleswoman who lives in Hualien, stated the tremors had put her in a “very torturous mood.”
“I have been unable to sleep well since the earthquake last month,” she stated on Tuesday morning. “We can only pray that our house is strong enough to get us through this difficult time.”
Chris Buckley contributed reporting.
