Taiwanese media reported on May 6 that eight earthquakes with a magnitude of 4 or higher occurred within about one hour in the Hualien area of eastern Taiwan.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) announced that at around 6:09 p.m. local time the previous day, a magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck the sea area located 34.9 kilometers southeast of the Hualien County Government Office.
Buildings in the Hualien area are severely tilted due to a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck eastern Taiwan on April 3. Photo by Yonhap News
The Central Weather Administration added that five more earthquakes with a magnitude of 4 or higher occurred consecutively within 20 minutes after the magnitude 5.5 quake.
Additionally, at around 6:53 p.m. on the same day, another magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck the sea area 33.7 kilometers southeast of the Hualien County Government Office, and at around 7:15 p.m., yet another magnitude 4.3 earthquake occurred.
The Central Weather Administration stated that it cannot rule out the possibility of aftershocks with a magnitude of 5.5 or higher within the next three days.
Taiwan is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area known for frequent earthquakes.
On September 21, 1999, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake in the central Nantou region killed 2,415 people, and in April of this year, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Hualien County resulted in 18 deaths.
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