A magnitude 5.2 earthquake hit eastern Taiwan early Monday morning, followed shortly by a magnitude 4.9 aftershock a mere 33 seconds later.
According to the report from the Central Weather Administration (CWA), the earthquake occurred at 02:11 a.m. Its epicenter was located 50.7 kilometers southwest of the Hualien County government building and had a focal depth of 5 kilometers.
With the exception of Keelung and Hsinchu City, all 15 counties and cities on the island experienced some level of shaking. However, shaking was felt most intensely in Nantou and Hualien Counties.
Section chief of CWA’s Seismological Center Liao Che-wei (廖哲緯) said about 25 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5 or higher occur in Taiwan each year. This is the first significant earthquake of 2024. Liao said that the quake was triggered by the collision of the Philippine Sea Plate with the Eurasian Plate. He added that the junction of the continental plates has always been an earthquake-prone area.
Liao predicts that aftershocks in the next three days will likely reach a magnitude of about 3 or 4 on the Richter scale, but he does not rule out the possibility that they may be stronger.