Taiwan was rocked by a series of earthquakes on Monday and early Tuesday, the strongest measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale, partially collapsing two buildings and keeping terrified residents awake at night.This earthquake is an aftershock 7.3 magnitude earthquake Authorities said the crash killed 17 people three weeks ago.
Wu Jianfu, director of the Earthquake Center of Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau, said the 5.5-magnitude earthquake struck Hualien County on Taiwan’s east coast just after 5 p.m. local time on Monday. Minutes later, a series of smaller tremors occurred in the same area.
Two buildings in Hualien City partially collapsed and some residents were evacuated, and schools and offices in Hualien County were ordered to close on Tuesday due to the ongoing earthquake threat. according to local news media. No injuries or deaths had been reported as of Tuesday morning.
Mr Wu told a news conference on Monday night that the quakes were aftershocks of the deadly April 3 earthquake, the strongest to hit Taiwan in 25 years. The epicenter of the earthquake was also in the Hualien County area.
As of Tuesday morning, more than 180 earthquakes had been recorded, according to the Central Weather Bureau. The strongest earthquake, a magnitude 6, occurred near Taiwan’s east coast at 2:26 a.m. and a magnitude 6.3 earthquake at 2:32 a.m., about 10 miles from Hualien County. The latest major earthquake occurred around 8 a.m. on Tuesday. according to Central Weather Bureau.
Chen Meihui, 58, a retired saleswoman living in Hualien, said the earthquake left her “feeling very miserable.”
“I haven’t been sleeping well since the earthquake last month,” she said Tuesday morning. “We can only pray that our house is strong enough to see us through this difficult time.”
Chris Buckley Contributed reporting.
