Earthquake Occurs in Nantou the Previous Night
[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] On the night of the 18th, a magnitude 5.0 earthquake occurred in the Lugu area of Nantou, central Taiwan, where about 2,000 people had died from a severe earthquake, according to Taiwanese media such as Liberty Times and China Times on the 19th.
The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) of Taiwan announced that the earthquake occurred at around 11:49 PM local time the previous day in the Lugu area (latitude 23.7°, longitude 120.77°), located 23.4 km south-southeast of the Nantou County government in central Nantou County. The focal depth was 18.2 km.
The CWB explained that the epicenter was near the Damaopu-Shuangdong fault, Dajianshan fault, Chuxiang fault, and Chelongpu fault areas. It is located 17 km away from the epicenter of the 921 earthquake in the Jiji area of Nantou County on September 21, 1999. The magnitude of the 921 earthquake was 7.6, and 2,415 people died.
The earthquake was reportedly felt throughout Taiwan. No immediate reports of casualties have been made.
Residents of Nantou and Changhua areas stated that, in addition to the shaking up and down, "a very loud and clear rumbling sound from the ground" was heard before the earthquake occurred.
The Nantou County Fire Department warned of the risk of falling rocks on mountain roads and urged caution.
Chen Guochang, head of the Earthquake Prediction Center, said this earthquake is classified as a shallow earthquake and that the possibility of magnitude 3 to 4 earthquakes occurring within two days cannot be ruled out.
The shallower the epicenter, the shorter the distance seismic waves travel to the surface, resulting in less energy loss before hitting buildings. This is why shallow earthquakes cause stronger shaking felt by people and have greater destructive power than deep earthquakes.
Earlier, the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau reported that at 9:08 AM on the 17th, a magnitude 3.1 earthquake occurred 4.8 km underground in the Beitou area, 14.1 km north of the Taipei City government.
The CWB explained that this earthquake was caused by the rupture of rock walls in the magma chamber beneath Datunshan (a large underground volcanic magma pond) due to temperature differences caused by a large amount of groundwater pouring in. They stated it was unrelated to any fault lines.
They assessed that there is no risk of volcanic eruption or aftershocks.
Additionally, they emphasized that in the past 20 years, only 17 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or higher have occurred in the area.
United Daily News reported that the diameter of the Datunshan magma chamber, located 8 km below the surface, is about 8 km.
In the Beitou area where Datunshan is located, earthquakes of magnitude 5.3 on July 3, 1988, and magnitude 5.7 on January 17, 2018, also occurred.
Taiwan, located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, frequently experiences earthquakes. More than 100 people lost their lives in a strong earthquake in 2016.
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