Taiwan Earthquake: Seven Major Aftershocks Shake Region After 7.4 Magnitude Quake

After a massive earthquake struck Taiwan on Wednesday morning, at least seven major aftershocks were recorded. This comes after the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that jolted the Taiwanese capital city of Taipei.

According to the China's Central Weather Administrationthat seven major aftershocks were observed back-to-back. Among them, a tremor of 'largest intensity' was observed striking 12.7 Km north of Hualien.

Seven Major Aftershocks In Taiwan

Earlier, it was reported by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) that the seismic event was recorded at 7:58 am (local time). The epicenter of the earthquake was located near Hualien City. Following the mainshock, the first tremor was reported within a time gap of merely two minutes.

The aftershock was felt at around 14.2 km SSE of Hualien County Hall. It had a depth of 25.4 km and was recorded with Magnitude 5.3 on the Richter Scale. Within a fraction of another eleven minutes, another major tremor strike took place 12.7 km NNE of Hualien County Hall which had a depth of 5.5 km and magnitude 6.5 on the Richter Scale, as reported by the CWA.

In the next two minutes by around 8:31 am, per local time, four more aftershocks were felt with magnitudes 4.4, 4.9, 4.6, and 5.6 respectively.

Train and metro services in the East Asia Island nation were suspected to be affected after the seismic event. Multiple reports confirmed that many buildings collapsed in the country's southern city following the quake.

Among the visuals widely circulated online, heavy damage to a five-story building in Hualien was observed. Additionally, footage from the incident depicted a moving bridge as tremors were felt, with travelers standing with their vehicles on it.

The extent of the damages is yet to be ascertained, and there is no clarity on the mortality and number of people injured in Taiwan due to the earthquake at the moment. This remains a developing story as data presented by CWA indicates tremors are still being felt in parts of the country.