Over 200 earthquakes rock Taiwan overnight – Asia

Taiwan’s eastern Hualien County was rocked by more than 200 aftershocks late Monday and early Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Buildings in large parts of northern, eastern and western Taiwan, including the capital Taipei, were affected overnight, but no major damage or casualties were reported. The tremors reported were very shallow.

Mostly rural and sparsely populated, Hualien was hit by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on April 3 that killed at least 17 people and has since had more than 1,000 aftershocks.

Taiwan’s Central Meteorological Administration said the series of quakes – which it said numbered more than 200 – were aftershocks from the big April 3 quake.

Director of the seismological center Wu Chien-fu told reporters that the aftershocks were a “concentrated release of energy” and warned that there could be more, although not as strong.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen urged people to avoid the mountains and remain alert.

The Hualien Fire Department said two buildings, which are now uninhabitable after being damaged on April 3, sustained additional damage and were leaning, reports news.bg.

The world’s largest contract chip maker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), whose factories are on the island’s west coast, said some staff at a small number of factories had been evacuated but facilities and safety systems were operating normally and all personnel are safe.

“We do not anticipate any impact on operations at this time,” it said in an email.