TAIPEI, Taiwan — On Thursday morning, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake rattled buildings across Taiwan as a sequence of seismic events impacted the island. While the quake resulted in minimal damage, it may indicate the potential for additional seismic activity in the near future.
The most significant tremor occurred at 10:11 a.m. (0211 GMT) in Dapu township, located in Chiayi county, at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles). According to assessments from the Central Weather Agency and U.S. Geological Survey, the quake’s epicenter was situated approximately 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Taipei, where residents felt buildings sway gently.
Shortly after the initial quake, there were at least a dozen smaller tremors reported in Dapu, identified as aftershocks from a magnitude 6.4 quake that took place on January 21, which resulted in 15 individuals seeking medical attention for minor injuries and inflicted damage on buildings and a highway bridge.
Fortunately, no injuries were recorded following Thursday’s earthquake; however, emergency teams were mobilized to remove fallen tiles and signage from buildings. Additionally, train services were halted for 70 minutes on the high-speed rail line connecting the northern and southern parts of the island while safety inspections were performed, leading to reduced speeds on local train services as well.
The seismic activity coincided with the weeklong Lunar New Year festival, one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
In a notable seismic event last April, a powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck the eastern coastal county of Hualien, resulting in at least 13 fatalities and injuring over 1,000 individuals. This earthquake also caused the collapse of a hotel and resulted in the closing of Taroko National Park. It marked the strongest quake in 25 years, followed by a significant number of aftershocks.
Experts indicate that the island is experiencing a phase of heightened seismic activity, which might lead to further aftershocks or new earthquakes in the future, although significant destruction is not anticipated. According to Kuo Kai-wen, a former head of the CWA’s Seismological Center, “This was a third wave of quakes, and if there is a fourth wave it will likely be smaller.”
Taiwan is situated along the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire,” a region characterized by numerous seismic faults surrounding the Pacific Ocean, where a considerable portion of the earth’s earthquakes take place.
The devastating magnitude 7.7 earthquake in 1999 resulted in the loss of 2,415 lives and widespread structural damage across the island of 23 million residents, leading to stricter building regulations, improved emergency response procedures, and comprehensive public awareness campaigns surrounding earthquake safety.
In Taiwan, schools and workplaces routinely conduct earthquake drills, and residents receive alerts on their mobile phones whenever a significant quake is detected.
