The Central Weather Bureau’s Seismological Center is predicting more earthquakes in Eastern Taiwan over the coming two days.
The prediction comes after a magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck the east coast in the early morning on Wednesday. The earthquake’s epicenter was located 37.2km northeast of Hualien County’s government building. Shaking was felt as far away as New Taipei City.
The 5.6 quake is part of a series of smaller earthquakes that shook parts of the island between 1AM and 10AM local time on Wednesday. As of 10AM Wednesday, seismographs had recorded 238 small earthquakes, of which 20 could be felt.
The Seismological Center says that the Hualien area sits at a plate boundary. According to the center, earthquakes in this area are normal, but there have been fewer than usual this year. The center says that the next two days may see more earthquakes in the Hualien area, but all are expected to be relatively small.