Taipei, Taiwan, experienced a series of earthquakes from Monday afternoon into the early hours of Tuesday, with the Central Weather Administration reporting the strongest tremor as a magnitude 6.3 originating in eastern Hualien.
The seismic activity began with a magnitude 5.5 quake on Monday around 5:08 pm (0908 GMT), felt in the capital. This was followed by a succession of aftershocks and tremors, with two intense quakes striking around 2:30 am (1830 GMT) on Tuesday, according to reports from AFP and eyewitnesses in Taipei.
Olivier Bonifacio, a tourist staying in Taipei’s Da’an district, described the experience: “I was washing my hands, and suddenly felt what I thought was vertigo. I stepped into my room and noticed the building was rocking and I heard the desk creak. It was then I realized it was another aftershock.”
The Central Weather Administration reported a magnitude-6.0 quake at 2:26 am, followed by a magnitude-6.3 tremor six minutes later.
Differing reports emerged regarding the magnitude, with the US Geological Survey measuring the first quake at magnitude-6.1, followed by a magnitude-6.0.
Throughout Monday, AFP reporters felt their buildings sway during intense tremors, with one witness noting, “glass panels of bathroom and windows were making noises” as the island trembled.
The Hualien region, the epicenter of a magnitude-7.4 quake on April 3, faced landslides that blocked roads and caused significant damage to buildings. At least 17 fatalities were reported from that quake, with the most recent body discovered on April 13 in a quarry.
Early Tuesday, Hualien’s fire department reported dispatching teams to assess potential damage from the recent quakes, later confirming no casualties by 2:54 am.
Taiwan, located at the convergence of two tectonic plates, frequently experiences earthquakes. The April 3 quake, followed by numerous aftershocks, triggered rockfalls in Hualien but did not result in major casualties, owing to stringent building regulations and public awareness of disaster preparedness.
The deadliest earthquake in Taiwan’s history occurred in 1999, registering magnitude-7.6 and claiming the lives of 2,400 individuals.
