A magnitude 6 earthquake occurred on Monday (June 20) east of Taiwan, in Hualien County, the United States Seismological Institute (USGS) announced. No damage or casualties have been reported so far.
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The USGS said the quake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers at 9:05 a.m. (01:05 GMT). A video filmed at a lake showing the ground suddenly shaking violently has been posted on Facebook by a national park in Hualien. “It’s a very big earthquake…. I hope everyone is safe!“, can we read in the caption, which adds that the footage was taken by one of the park’s surveillance cameras.
A Taipei-based AFP reporter said he felt the earth shake. The quake was felt across the island, according to local media. Subway traffic in the capital Taipei was briefly interrupted, according to a passenger.
A region regularly hit by earthquakes
A lesser tremor was recorded about half an hour later, according to the Taiwan Meteorological Service. “In this (earthquake-affected) area, there have only been two earthquakes greater than 6.0 magnitude since 1990 and one near 6.0 magnitude“Said Chen Kuo-chang, head of the seismological center of the Central Meteorological Bureau of Taiwan, during a press conference. “The weakest is today and we believe it may be related to activities (at) the fault“, he added. He said the meteorological office did not rule out further aftershocks above magnitude 5.0 in the next two days.
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Taiwan and its surroundings are regularly hit by earthquakes due to their location near the junction between two tectonic plates. Earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater can cause casualties, depending on where they occur and how deep they are. The UGSC classified this event as “green“, considering that there is little risk that it causes injuries or damage. According to Chen Kuo-chang, the highest number of earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 6.0 was recorded in 1999, with a total of 13. That year, Taiwan was devastated by the deadliest earthquake. in its history, with a magnitude of 7.6 in September, it had caused more than 2,400 deaths.