Taiwan hit by aftershocks
Aftershocks hit southeastern Taiwan on Monday, including a 5.5 magnitude earthquake felt in the capital, Taipei, the day after a powerful quake.
A crack near the collapsed Kaoliao Bridge in Taiwan on September 19, 2022.
AFP
The last tremor occurred around 10:00 a.m. local time (04:00 a.m. in Switzerland) 66 km south of the coastal city of Hualien at a depth of 13 km, according to the American Institute of Geological Studies (USGS). The Taiwan Meteorological Agency recorded a magnitude of 5.9, recorded at 5.5 by the USGS.
Southeast Taiwan, rural and sparsely populated, has been hit by a series of tremors since Saturday. The most powerful, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake, occurred on Sunday afternoon, destroying roads as well as homes in the town of Yuli, where at least one person was killed. Four others were rescued after a building collapsed. Authorities said a total of 146 people were injured.
Taiwan is regularly the scene of earthquakes which, for the most part, cause only minor damage, but the history of the island is punctuated by deadly disasters. Taiwan’s tourist hotspot Hualien was hit by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake in 2018 that killed 17 and injured nearly 300. The deadliest earthquake ever recorded in Taiwan, with a magnitude of 7.6, occurred in September 1999 and killed more than 2,400 people.
AFP
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