Taiwan: 5 Earthquakes Strike Hualien County Within a Span of 9 Minutes

Taipei: Even as residents of Hualien County recover from the tragedy of the historic 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit Taiwan earlier this month, a series of small earthquakes, ranging in magnitude from 4.9 to 5.5, hit the eastern part of the island nation on Monday, CNA Focus Taiwan reported. Starting with the 5.5 magnitude earthquake that was detected 26.8 km south-southwest of the Hualien County Hall at around 17:08, a total of five quakes were detected in the area over a span of just nine minutes.

Each of these quakes, which occurred at 17:08, 17:09. 17:12, 17:15 and 17:17, registered an intensity level of four in Hualien County, according to the CNA report. On Taiwan's seven-tier intensity system, level four is described by Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA) as ‘moderate shaking’ that will cause a ‘considerable degree of fear’ and will lead people to seek shelter with the possibility of heavy furniture moving around as buildings shake violently. 

During a later press briefing, CWA Seismological Centre Director Wu Chien-fu reportedly said that these shallow quakes, occurring at a depth of around 10 km, are aftershocks of the aforementioned historic April 3 earthquake. 

He noted that any earthquake above magnitude 5 will result in two to three weeks' worth of aftershocks. In the case of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake, however, these aftershocks may last for a longer period. Wu concluded that he expects more aftershocks in the coming days though, for the most part, of a lower magnitude. 

All in all, Wu said, as many as 935 aftershocks have been detected since April 3, with two of those aftershocks having a magnitude greater than six.