Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-02-07
The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) says the powerful earthquake that hit Hualien in
A Central Weather Bureau chart shows that Tuesday night’s quake had an intensity of 7 in both Hualien and part of neighboring Yilan County. That’s the highest intensity of any quake in Taiwan since 1999. In many other areas, including the capital city of Taipei, the quake was felt as an intensity of 3. (CNA photo, provided by CWB)
eastern Taiwan at just before midnight on Tuesday had the highest intensity of any quake since 1999. That year, on September 21, a devastating quake with a magnitude of 7.3 on the Richter Scale struck central Taiwan, leaving more than 2,400 dead.
CWB seismologist Chen Kuo-chang said Wednesday that the Hualien earthquake, which had a magnitude of 6.0, was the first since 1999 to have an intensity of over 7 at the location of the quake.
While magnitude measures the size of the earthquake at its source or the seismic energy it releases, intensity is a description of how strongly the quake is felt at different locations. Although Tuesday’s quake had an intensity of 7 near the epicenter, it had an intensity of 3 in the greater Taipei area.
Chen also spoke about the vast number of aftershocks which have hit Taiwan in recent days, calling them “rare”. At least 19 aftershocks occurred after a smaller earthquake on Sunday night, which had a magnitude of 5.8 on the Richter Scale. Dozens more have rattled Taiwan since Tuesday night’s quake. Chen said that more analysis is needed to find out the cause of the unusual number of aftershocks. [SOURCE]
