Taiwan’s Hualien rattled by 6.3-magnitude quake, no immediate reports of damage

TAIPEI - A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck 34km off Taiwan’s eastern city of Hualien on Aug 16, with no immediate reports of damage from the second strong tremor to hit the island in less than a day, the weather administration said.

The quake shook buildings in the capital Taipei, with subway services continuing at lower speeds.

“It was close,” said Mr Hsieh Yu Wei, a singer who pulled his car over when he received a government-issued quake warning while driving on a Hualien coastal highway.

The quake had a depth of 9.7km and followed a 5.7-magnitude earthquake that struck off Taiwan’s north-eastern shore on Aug 15, the weather administration said.

Weather officials warned of aftershocks that could reach a magnitude of 5.5 in the next few days, as well as the risk of landslides in mountainous areas following days of rain. Around a dozen earthquakes were recorded near Hualien since the major tremor.

The Central Weather Administration issued mobile phone alerts warning people to “keep calm and seek cover nearby”.

The National Fire Agency, which reported no damage, urged vigilance after a 5.4-magnitude quake triggered an alert on Aug 15.

“In response to the continuous earthquakes, the Ministry of the Interior called on the public to remain vigilant, pay attention to the occurrence of aftershocks and be prepared for earthquakes,” it said in a statement.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes.

In April, Hualien was hit by the biggest earthquake to affect Taiwan in about 25 years, with at least 18 people killed and more than 900 injured.

A Singapore couple hiking along the Shakadang Trail in Hualien has not been seen since disembarking from a tour bus in the county’s Taroko Gorge on the morning of the quake on April 3.  

Over in Japan, the National Public Safety Commission on Aug 15 ended its call for higher-than-usual risks of a major earthquake, one week after a strong tremor on the edge of the Nankai Trough seabed zone prompted the government to issue its first megaquake advisory.

A 5.3-magnitude earthquake hit eastern Japan near Tokyo on Aug 9, with reported damage limited to three mild injuries.

Japan has predicted a 70 per cent to 80 per cent chance of a Nankai Trough megaquake occurring in the next 30 years.

The government’s worst-case scenario has estimated that a Nankai Trough mega-quake and subsequent tsunami disaster could kill 323,000 people, destroy 2.38 million buildings and cause 220 trillion yen (S$1.95 trillion) of economic damage. REUTERS