A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the east coast of Taiwan on Friday, the second major quake in the past 24 hours, with no immediate reports of casualties or damage, Taiwan’s Central Meteorological Agency said.
The quake occurred at 7:35 a.m. Friday (23:35 GMT Thursday) in the Pacific Ocean, 34.2 kilometers southeast of eastern Hualien County, at a depth of 9.7 kilometers.
The quake was felt throughout the main island of Taiwan and the Pescadores archipelago, and had its highest intensity (4 out of 7) in the counties of Hualien, Yilan, Taitung (east), Nantou (center), Yunlin, Changhua (west) and Chiayi (south), as well as in the city of Taichung (west).
Authorities have issued national emergency alerts in 12 counties or cities to warn the population of the earthquake, which has so far caused no casualties or significant damage.
The quake was followed by 11 tremors ranging in magnitude from 3.7 to 4.8, all of which struck off the coast of Hualien.
These tremors occurred just 14 hours after another 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the island’s east coast.
On April 3, Hualien County was hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, the most intense in Taiwan in the past 25 years, which caused 18 deaths, more than 1,100 injuries and millions of dollars in losses in the tourism and education sectors of the region.
Taiwan sits at the confluence of the Philippine and Eurasian plates, so earthquakes are frequent on the island.
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