Want China Times
Date: 2015-10-18
By: CNA and Staff Reporter

A string of 18 earthquakes ranging in magnitude from 3.5 to 4.5 that shook

A Central Weather Bureau employee shows recent seismic readings, Oct. 16. (Photo/Yang Chao-yuan)

Taiwan between midnight and early afternoon Friday represented a normal release of tectonic energy, and was not necessarily the precursor to a major earthquake, a seismologist said Friday.

Central Weather Bureau Seismology Center director Kuo Kai-wen explained that the earthquakes occurred north-northeast of the east coast city of Hualien when the Philippine plate collided with the Eurasian plate. He said there is no need for panic because such activity is just the normal release of stress built up during the collision between plates.

He added that it is not rare to have a string of more than a dozen earthquakes in 24 hours. On June 15, 2012, for instance, a string of 66 earthquakes took place in the region, he added.     [FULL  STORY]