Taiwan was rocked by a series of earthquakes on Monday and Tuesday morning, the strongest with a magnitude of 6.3, which partially collapsed two buildings and kept frightened residents awake at night. The tremors were aftershocks after the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that killed 17 people three weeks ago, authorities said.
The tremors began shortly after 5pm local time on Monday with a magnitude 5.5 earthquake in Hualien county on Taiwan’s east coast, according to Wu Chien-fu, director of the Seismological Center of the Central Taiwan Meteorological Administration. . It was followed by a series of smaller tremors a few minutes later in the same area.
Two buildings in the city of Hualien partially collapsed, some residents were evacuated and schools and offices in Hualien county were ordered to close on Tuesday due to the danger of continued tremors. second local media outlets. No injuries or deaths had been reported Tuesday morning.
Mr Wu said at a news conference on Monday evening that the earthquakes were aftershocks of the deadly April 3 earthquake, which was the strongest to hit Taiwan in 25 years. The epicenter of the earthquake was also located in the Hualien county area.
By Tuesday morning, more than 180 tremors had been recorded in the previous 24 hours, according to the Central Weather Administration. The strongest occurred at 2:26 am, magnitude 6, off the east coast of Taiwan, and at 2:32 am, magnitude 6.3, about 10 miles from Hualien county. The last major tremor occurred on Tuesday around 8.00 am. second the Central Meteorological Administration.
Chen Mei-hui, 58, a retired shop assistant who lives in Hualien, said the tremors had put her in “a very torturous state of mind.”
“I haven’t been able to sleep well since the earthquake last month,” she said Tuesday morning. “We can only pray that our home is strong enough to get us through this difficult time.”
Chris Buckley contributed to the reporting.
