Taiwan’s capital was hit by a series of earthquakes overnight into the early hours of Tuesday, with the Central Weather Administration saying the strongest was a magnitude-6.3 tremor originating in eastern Hualien.
The first strong quake — a magnitude 5.5 — hit on Monday at around 5:08 pm (0908 GMT), according to Central Weather Administration. It could be felt in the capital Taipei.
Largely rural and sparsely populated Hualien was hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake on April 3 that killed at least 14 people, and there have been more than 1,000 aftershocks since.
Buildings across large parts of northern, eastern and western Taiwan, including in the capital, Taipei, swayed throughout the night, with the largest quake measuring a 6.3 magnitude. All were very shallow.
Seismological Centre Director Wu Chien-fu told reporters that the aftershocks were a “concentrated release of energy” and that more could be expected, though perhaps not as strong.
With heavy rain predicted for all of Taiwan this week, people in Hualien need to be prepared for further disruption, he added.
The Hualien fire department said two buildings, already uninhabited after being damaged on April 3, suffered further damage and were leaning. There were no reports of casualties reported so far.
Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes. More than 100 people were killed in a quake in southern Taiwan in 2016, while a 7.3 magnitude quake killed more than 2,000 people in 1999.
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