TAIPEI — A cluster of earthquakes struck Taiwan early on Tuesday, with the strongest measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There was no immediate report of any damage or casualties.
The tremors occurred after a magnitude 7.4 quake hit the island earlier this month, killing 13 people and injuring over 1,000. That earthquake was centered along the coast of the rural and mountainous Hualien County. It was the strongest earthquake Taiwan had experienced in the past 25 years and was followed by hundreds of aftershocks.
According to the USGS, Tuesday’s quake of 6.1 magnitude had its epicenter 28 kilometers (17.5 miles) south of the city of Hualien, at a depth of 10.7 kilometers. The half-dozen other quakes ranged from magnitude 4.5 to magnitude 6, all near Hualien.
Taiwan is accustomed to powerful earthquakes yet their impact on the high-tech island’s 23 million residents has been relatively minimal thanks to its excellent earthquake preparedness, experts say. The island also has strict construction standards and widespread public education campaigns about earthquakes. In 1999, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Taiwan killed 2,400 people.