Taiwan’s capital has been rocked by a strong earthquake, AFP officials said, with the Central Meteorological Administration saying it was a 5.5-magnitude quake in eastern Hualien.
The area was the epicenter of the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck on April 3 and triggered landslides in the mountainous region that blocked roads and severely damaged buildings in the main city of Hualien.
At least 17 people died in the earthquake, with the last body found on April 13 in a quarry.
Today’s earthquake struck Taiwan at around 17:08 local time and was felt in the capital, Taipei.
The US Geological Survey defined it as a magnitude 5.5 quake at a depth of 8.9 km.
“It felt like one of the strongest earthquakes or aftershocks since the big earthquake earlier this month,” an AFP official said.
The Hualien Fire Department said in a brief post on its official social media channel that it had dispatched teams to check for possible disasters from the earthquake.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and report back in due course,” the office said.
Taiwan witnesses frequent earthquakes as it is located at the crossroads of two tectonic plates.
The April 3 earthquake was followed by hundreds of aftershocks that triggered rockfalls in the Hualien area. It was Taiwan’s worst earthquake since 1999, when a 7.6-magnitude quake hit the island.
Then the number of victims was much higher – 2,400 people died in the deadliest natural disaster in the history of the island.
Stricter building regulations, including increased seismic requirements in building codes, and widespread public awareness of disasters appear to have prevented a more serious disaster in April’s strong earthquake. /BGNES
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