Strong quake strikes northern Taiwan

TAIPEI, Oct. 24 : A strong earthquake struck northeastern Taiwan on Sunday, with residents reporting violent shaking in the capital Taipei but there were no immediate reports of widespread damage. Taiwan's central weather bureau said the quake was of magnitude 6.5 while the US Geological Survey gave a lower figure of 6.2. It hit northeastern Yilan county at 1:11 pm (0511 GMT) at a depth of 67 kilometres (42 miles).

An AFP reporter who lives in Yilan said the shaking seemed to last some 30 seconds. "The walls of the house were shaking, both sideways and up and down, it felt quite strong," the reporter said. There was no damage in his neighbourhood.

The main quake was followed by a 5.4-magnitude aftershock and Taipei's MRT metro system shut down as a precaution for a little under an hour before service resumed. Tom Parker, a British illustrator who lives in Taipei, said he was riding the subway when the quake hit. "First time I've felt a quake on the MRT. Like a tame rollercoaster," he tweeted, adding he and other commuters were told to shelter in place in the station for now. Many others reported the tremor on social media. "I was scared to death, I screamed in my room," Yu Ting wrote on Facebook. "This earthquake is really big, glass has shattered in my living room." Some grocery stores reported food and other goods were thrown from shelves by the shaking.

Taiwan is regularly hit by earthquakes as the island lies near the junction of two tectonic plates. Some earthquakes of this magnitude can prove deadly, although much depends on where the quake strikes and at what depth.

Hualien, a scenic tourist hotspot, was struck by a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in 2018 that killed 17 people and injured nearly 300. In September 1999, a 7.6-magnitude quake killed around 2,400 people in the deadliest natural disaster in the island's history. However, a 6.2 earthquake struck in December 2020 in Yilan with no major damage or injuries reported.