Earthquake in Taiwan AGAIN, 5.5-magnitude tremor shakes Taipei days after 7.3-magnitude killed 17

A “strong” 5.5 magnitude earthquake jolted Taiwan’s capital Taipei on Monday (April 22) evening, days after it was struck by 7.4 magnitude tremor on April 3.

The quake hit Taiwan around 5:08 pm local time (02:38 pm IST).

The Central Weather Administration said the tremor on Monday originated in eastern Hualien, the region which was the epicenter of the quake that hit on April 3.

In a post of its official social media channel, Hualien’s fire department said they have dispatched teams to inspect of any disaster from the quake.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and report in a timely manner,” the post added.

“It felt like one of the strongest quakes or aftershocks since the big one earlier this month,” AFP quoted one of its staff members as saying.

The earthquake earlier this month caused landslides around the mountainous region that cut off roads and badly damaged buildings in the main Hualien city.

As many as 17 were killed in the quake, with the latest body discovered on April 13 in a quarry.

The April 3 quake was followed by hundreds of aftershocks, which caused rockfalls around Hualien.

It was the most serious in Taiwan since 1999 when a magnitude 7.6 hit the island.

Why Taiwan witnesses frequent earthquakes?

Taiwan sees frequent quakes as it is located at the junction of two tectonic plates.

The death toll in the 1999 Taiwan earthquake was far higher with 2,400 people killed in the deadliest natural disaster in the island’s history.

What Taiwan did to reduce casualties due to earthquake?

The death toll in April’s major earthquake was less as there was widespread public disaster awareness. Also, there were stricter building regulations – including enhanced seismic requirements in its building codes.

With inputs from AFP