Rattled Taiwan hit by more aftershocks 

TAIPEI – Aftershocks struck southeastern Taiwan today, including a 5.5-magnitude earthquake that was felt in the capital Taipei, a day after a more powerful tremor killed one person and injured around 150 others.

The latest quake hit around 10am (0200 GMT), 66 km south-southwest of the coastal city of Hualien at a depth of 13km, the United States Geological Survey said.

Taiwan’s central weather bureau put the magnitude at 5.9.

Rural and sparsely populated southeastern Taiwan has been rattled by a series of jolts since Saturday.

The most powerful, a 6.9-magnitude quake, struck yesterday afternoon, tearing up roads and bringing down a handful of houses in the town of Yuli where at least one person was killed.

Four others were rescued from a collapsed building, while authorities said a total of 146 suffered injuries. 

Taiwan is regularly hit by quakes and most cause minimal damage but the island also has a long history of deadly disasters. 

Hualien, a tourist hotspot, was struck by a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in 2018 that killed 17 people and injured nearly 300.

In September 1999, a 7.6-magnitude quake killed around 2,400 people in the deadliest natural disaster in the island’s history. – AFP, September 19, 2022