TAIPEI, Taiwan—A magnitude 5.6 earthquake rattled buildings in Taiwan on Thursday morning, as a series of tremors struck the island, causing minor damage but perhaps indicating greater seismic activity in the near future.
The largest of the quakes occurred at 10:11 a.m. (0211 GMT) at Chiayi County's Dapu Township, at a depth of 6 miles, according to the Central Weather Agency and the United States. Geological survey. The epicenter occurred around 155 miles south of the capital, Taipei, where buildings trembled significantly.
That was quickly followed by at least a dozen minor earthquakes in Dapu. All were aftershocks following a magnitude 6.4 earthquake that rocked Dapu on January 21 and sent 15 people to the hospital with minor injuries while also destroying buildings and a highway bridge.
There were no reported injuries during Thursday's earthquake, although workmen were summoned to remove tiles and signage that had been shaken off buildings. Train service was also suspended for 70 minutes on the island's north-south high-speed rail while safety inspections were carried out, and slower trains' speeds were decreased.
Thursday was a significant travel day during the weeklong Lunar New Year celebrations.
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck the island's rugged eastern coastline county of Hualien in April, killing at least 13 people and injuring over 1,000 more, demolishing a hotel and causing Toroko National Park to close. That was the strongest earthquake in 25 years, with hundreds of aftershocks.
Taiwan is experiencing heightened seismic activity, which could result in additional aftershocks or new quakes, though they are unlikely to be catastrophic, according to the CWA and earthquake specialists.
“This was a third wave of quakes, and if there is a fourth wave it will likely be smaller,” said Kuo Kai-wen, former head of the CWA’s Seismological Center.
Taiwan is located along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a belt of seismic faults that encircles the Pacific Ocean from Chile to New Zealand, where the majority of the world's earthquakes occur.
The 1999 magnitude 7.7 earthquake killed 2,415 people, destroyed buildings across the 23 million-person island, and resulted in stricter building rules, improved reaction times and coordination, and widespread earthquake safety education campaigns.
Schools and workplaces do earthquake exercises, and cellphones vibrate anytime a big earthquake is detected.
