Magnitude 5.5 earthquake rattles eastern Taiwan

台灣東部發生5.5級地震

Magnitude 5.5 temblor in Hualien felt in much of Taiwan


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- A magnitude 5.5 earthquake rocked eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 7:47 a.m. this morning (May 2), with most of Taiwan feeling the quake, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

The epicenter of the quake was located 62 kilometers east of Hualien County Hall and was measured at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers, based on CWB data.

An intensity level of 3 was felt in neighboring Yilan County, while an intensity level of 2 was felt in Hualien County, Nantou County, New Taipei City, Taipei City, Taitung County and Yunlin County. An intensity level of 1 was felt in the rest of Taiwan proper, with the exception of Tainan and Pingtung counties.

No injuries were reported at the time of publication.

Located along the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, Taiwan uses an intensity scale of 1 to 7, which gauges the degree to which a quake is felt in a specific location.

Hualien was the scene of a deadly magnitude 6.0 earthquake which struck on Feb. 6 and claimed the lives of 17 people.