4.7 magnitude earthquake rattles southern Taiwan

台灣南部發生規模4.7地震

4.7 magnitude temblor follows 4.5, 4.2 quakes seen earlier Wednesday morning

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A magnitude 4.7 earthquake rocked southern Taiwan's Tainan County at 11:13 a.m. Wednesday morning (Aug. 19), the third quake in excess of magnitude 4.0 to be felt that day, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

The epicenter of the temblor was 33.3 kilometers northeast of Tainan City Hall at a shallow depth of 10.4 kilometers, based on CWB data. Taiwan uses an intensity scale of 1 to 7, which gauges the degree to which a quake is felt at a specific location.

The quake’s intensity registered as a 4 in Chiayi County, a 3 in Tainan City, Chiayi City, and Yunlin County, and 2 in Kaohsiung City, Nantou County, and Changhua County. A lesser intensity of 1 was recorded in Taitung County, Penghu County, Hualien County, and Miaoli County.

Tainan County was jolted by two earthquakes in quick succession earlier in the morning, with the first registering as a magnitude 4.5 at 8:33 a.m. followed by a second one with a magnitude of 4.2 eight minutes later.

The CWB's Seismological Center said that the earthquakes were likely caused by the collision of the Eurasian Plate and Philippine Sea Plate. After being affected by the stress, the bedrock near the surface fractured, according to the CWB.

No injuries resulting from any of the three quakes had been reported at the time of publication.