Big aftershocks rock Hualien county in Taiwan weeks after 7.2 earthquake

Taiwan’s Hualien county was hit by a series of earthquakes – with the highest magnitude at 6.3 – in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The county, along the east coast of the island, experienced the two strongest shocks in about six minutes, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration which recorded a 6.0-magnitude quake at 2.26am at a depth of 10km (6.21 miles).

A second 6.3-magnitude earthquake was recorded at 2.32am, at a depth of 5.5km (3.42 miles), according to the administration.

The shocks, near the coastal city of Hualien in the north of the county, were part of the aftershocks from the 7.2-magnitude quake earlier this month, said Wu Chien-fu, director of the administration’s Seismological Centre, at a morning briefing.

The earthquake on April 3 was Taiwan’s strongest in 25 years, killing at least 17 and injuring more than 1,000 people. More than a thousand shocks were recorded between then and Tuesday morning, Wu said.

About half of the aftershocks, with magnitudes of 5 or above, occurred from Monday evening to Tuesday morning. The historic Hotel Fouquet and the previously-damaged General’s House collapsed, but were empty, local media reported. Schools and work in Hualien county were suspended on Tuesday.

Nearby counties – including Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Taichung – as well as the capital Taipei, also experienced shocks.

Wu said the aftershocks could continue for at least six months and called on residents to make better earthquake preparations. But he added that the strength of the shocks is likely to reduce, with anything over 7-magnitude unlikely.