Aftershocks are still occurring after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit Hualien on April 3. At 3.45 p.m. on Friday, another 5.8 temblor rocked Taiwan, with a very shallow depth of 10 kilometers and a maximum intensity of 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier scale. Earlier in the day, there had been three tremors of magnitude 4.1, 5.0 and 5.1 respectively. Since April 3 Taiwan has experienced more than 1,400 quakes and seismologists say the quakes could continue for another six months.

A large amount of dirt and rubble collapses down a cliff face, raising clouds of smoke-like dust. A rock fall has occurred once more around Chongde Control Station in Hualien, which suffered a severe landslide during the powerful earthquake on April 3.

At 3:45 pm on Friday, there was a magnitude 5.8 earthquake in Hualien with a depth of only 10 kilometers. The highest intensity recorded was a 4 in Hualien and Yilan, with intensities of 3 in Nantou, Taichung and Taipei. The quake felt particularly intense in the northern regions.

Wu Chien-fu
CWA Seismological Center
This quake was relatively close to Taiwan’s north. If people were in their buildings’ upper storeys, the swaying was particularly obvious. Then, with the Taipei Basin, there is a site effect. When the seismic waves come in, it creates a resonance phenomenon.

And it wasn’t the only quake to strike on Friday. At 9.35 a.m., there was a magnitude 5.1 earthquake, with a seismic intensity of 4. Two more quakes followed, with magnitudes of 5.0 and 4.1 respectively. The epicenters were all off the coast of Hualien, and one was as shallow as 4-kilometers deep.

Kuo Kai-wen
Former CWA seismologist
The energy currently being released in a fourth wave amounts to the energy of 0.747 atomic bombs. Not all the energy has been released this time, so there may be several more waves, and there may be quakes with magnitudes 6 and above this year.

Wu Chien-fu
CWA Seismological Center
The daily number is slowing decreasing, and they’re getting smaller, and their frequency is also slowly decreasing. But there will still be sporadic relatively large aftershocks along the way, which could lead to a cluster of quakes being crowded together.

It has been more than a month since the powerful earthquake on April 3. The number of quakes and aftershocks has exceeded 1,400, including 69 with magnitudes of 5 to 6. The CWA reminds the public that although the frequency of aftershocks is decreasing, the shaking may continue for 3 to 6 months.

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