Taiwan’s quake-hit county of Hualien has been rattled by dozens of aftershocks, but only minor damage was reported and no casualties.
Largely rural and sparsely populated Hualien was hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake on April 3 which killed at least 14 people and there have been more than 1000 aftershocks since.
Buildings shook late on Monday and early Tuesday across large parts of northern, eastern and western Taiwan, including in the capital Taipei, swayed throughout the night at intervals, with the largest quake measuring a magnitude of 6.3. All were very shallow.
Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration said the spate of earthquakes starting Monday afternoon – which it put at around 180 – were aftershocks from the large earthquake earlier in April.
The Hualien fire department said two buildings, which were already uninhabited after being damaged in the April 3 tremor, sustained further damage and were leaning at an angle.
There were no reports of any casualties.
Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes.
More than 100 people were killed in an earthquake in southern Taiwan in 2016, while a 7.3 magnitude earthquake killed more than 2000 people in 1999.
