After Taiwan saw 4 earthquakes yesterday, more above magnitude 5 could occur: CWB

中央氣象局：台灣昨日發生4級地震後可能會再發生5級以上的地震

After 4 earthquakes recorded in Taiwan yesterday, more aftershocks over magnitude 5 could occur over next 2 weeks: CWB


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- After Taiwan's outer island of Penghu was jolted by four earthquakes yesterday, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said that aftershocks over magnitude 4 or 5 are also possible in the next two weeks.

A series of four earthquakes struck off the coast of Penghu over the course of the day yesterday. The first was a magnitude 6.1 earthquake, which struck at 7:57 a.m. yesterday morning and was centered 101.9 kilometers west of Penghu County Hall at a depth of 20.5 kilometers.

The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, registered a 3 in Penghu County, Kinmen County, Tainan City, Yunlin County, Chiayi County, Changhua County, and Chiayi City.

The second quake, a magnitude 4.7, struck 8:15 a.m. in the morning and was centered 102.4 kilometers west of Penghu County Hall at a depth of 18 kilometers. The greatest impact felt was an intensity level of 2 in Penghu County.

The third temblor, a magnitude 4.8, struck at 8:50 p.m. last night and was centered 102.4 kilometers west-southwest of Penghu County Hall at a depth of 24.5 kilometers. The strongest shock wave felt was an intensity level of 2 in Chiayi County.

The last quake of the day, a magnitude 4.4, struck at 9:24 p.m. last night and was centered 102.4 kilometers west-southwest of Penghu County Hall at a depth of 9.6 kilometers. The greatest intensity level felt was a level 1 in Penghu County, Kinmen County, Tainan City, Yunlin County, Chiayi County, and Changhua County.

Lin Tzu-wei (林祖慰), a section chief at the bureau's Seismology Center, said the 7:57 a.m. quake was caused by an energy release within the Eurasian Plate, which usually accumulates energy for a long time before quakes occur. Lin noted that the last time an earthquake over a magnitude of 6 occurred in the tectonic plate in the waters off western Taiwan was in 1994.

Lin said the 1994 quake was located about 100 kilometers south of the epicenter of yesterday's earthquake and it had a magnitude of 6.4. Lin said he cannot exclude the possibility that there will be more aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 4 to 5 over the next week or two, but the probability is low and the public should not be overly concerned.