An earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale struck Taitung
County, eastern Taiwan, early Sunday morning, waking people up as
far away as central and southern Taiwan, the seismology center of
Taiwan's weather bureau reported.
According to a report reaching here from Taipei, the quake
rattled eastern Taiwan for about 30 seconds at 6:40 a.m. Sunday
(22:40 GMT, Saturday). Its epicenter was located at 19.9 kilometers
northeast of Taitung at a depth of 11.7 kilometers beneath the
surface of the sea, Taiwan seismologists said.
No damage or injuries have been reported so far, although
efforts are underway to check if the tremor caused any landslides
or falling rocks.
As the quake occurred in a comparatively shallow area, it was
felt in almost every area in eastern, central and southern parts of
the island. The shock waves penetrated beneath the Central Mountain
Range to reach even Penghu Island offshore the southern county of
Kaohsiung.
The quake is the second with a magnitude greater than 6.0 to
rattle the island in less than half a month.
Hong Kong Observatory Sunday morning put the magnitude of the
quake at 5.8 on the Richter scale.
(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2006)
