4.9, 4.5 earthquakes rock eastern Taiwan

台灣東部發生4.9、4.5級地震

Magnitude 4.9, 4.5 temblors rattle eastern Taiwan's Hualien County


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- A magnitude 4.9 earthquake jarred residents in eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 9:19 a.m. this morning (Aug. 6), and was quickly followed by a 4.5 quake at 9:31 a.m., according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

The epicenter of the 4.9 temblor was located 37.2 kilometers south-southwest of Hualien County Hall at a shallow depth of 5 kilometers, based on CWB data.

The quake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of the tremor, registered a 5 in Hualien County and a 2 in Nantou County and Taichung City. An intensity level of 1 was felt in Taitung County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Yilan County, Chiayi City, Miaoli County, Kaohsiung City, Changhua County, and Hsinchu County.

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.


CWB map of today's quake.

At 9:31 a.m. this morning, a magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck eastern Hualien, the second in a little over 10 minutes.

The epicenter of the second quake was 35.6 kilometers south-southwest of Hualien County Hall at a shallow depth of 5 kilometers.

The quake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of the tremor, registered a 4 in Hualien County and a 1 in Nantou County, Taitung County, Chiayi County, and Changhua County.

No injuries were reported from either quake at the time of publication.


CWB map of today's second quake.