Buildings in Taiwan were rocked by an earthquake of magnitude 5.6 on Thursday morning, followed by a series of aftershocks that caused minimal damage but might be a sign of further seismic activity soon.
The largest of the earthquakes struck at 10:11 a.m. (0211 GMT) at a depth of 10 kilometres (6 miles) in the Dapu township of Chiayi county, according to the U.S. Geological Survey and the Central Weather Agency.
The epicentre occurred around 250 kilometres (155 miles) South of the capital, Taipei, where buildings trembled.
That was quickly followed by at least a dozen minor earthquakes in Dapu. There were no early reports of damage or casualties.
All were aftershocks from a magnitude 6.4 earthquake that rocked Dapu on Jan. 21, sending 15 people to the hospital with minor injuries and causing damage to buildings and a highway bridge.
Last April, a magnitude 7.4 quake hit the island’s mountainous eastern coastal county of Hualien, killing at least 13 people, injuring more than 1,000 others, collapsing a hotel and forcing the closure of Toroko National Park.
Taiwan is going through a period of increased seismic activity that could lead to further aftershocks or new quakes, according to earthquake experts.
Taiwan lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean from Chile to New Zealand where most of the world’s earthquakes occur.
The 1999 magnitude 7.7 quake killed 2,415 people, damaged buildings around the island of 23 million people and led to tightened building codes, better response times and coordination and widespread public education campaigns on earthquake safety.
