Eight Earthquakes of Magnitude 4 or Higher Hit Hualien, Eastern Taiwan, Within One Hour

Taiwanese media reported on May 6 that eight earthquakes with a magnitude of 4 or higher occurred within about one hour in the Hualien area of eastern Taiwan.

The Central Weather Administration (CWA) announced that at around 6:09 p.m. local time the previous day, a magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck the sea area located 34.9 kilometers southeast of the Hualien County Government Office.

Buildings in the Hualien area are severely tilted due to a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck eastern Taiwan on April 3. Photo by Yonhap News

The Central Weather Administration added that five more earthquakes with a magnitude of 4 or higher occurred consecutively within 20 minutes after the magnitude 5.5 quake.

Additionally, at around 6:53 p.m. on the same day, another magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck the sea area 33.7 kilometers southeast of the Hualien County Government Office, and at around 7:15 p.m., yet another magnitude 4.3 earthquake occurred.

The Central Weather Administration stated that it cannot rule out the possibility of aftershocks with a magnitude of 5.5 or higher within the next three days.

Taiwan is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area known for frequent earthquakes.

On September 21, 1999, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake in the central Nantou region killed 2,415 people, and in April of this year, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Hualien County resulted in 18 deaths.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.