A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck northeastern Taiwan's Yilan County at 5:28 a.m. this morning (Aug. 8), according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).
The epicenter of the temblor 36.5 kilometers southeast of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 22.5 kilometers, based on CWB data.
The quake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of the tremor, registered a 6 in Yilan County and a 4 in Hualien County, New Taipei City, Taipei City, Hsinchu County, Taoyuan City, and Taichung City. An intensity level of 3 was felt in Nantou County, Keelung City, Miaoli County, Hsinchu City, Changhua County, and Yunlin County.
An intensity level of 2 was recorded in Chiayi County, Chiayi City, and Tainan City. An intensity level of 1 was reported in Taitung County, Kaohsiung City, Pingtung County, and Penghu County.
Located along the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, Taiwan uses an intensity scale of 1 to 7, which gauges the degree to which a quake is felt in a specific location.
Reports of filtering in of products falling off of store shelves and ceiling tiles falling in Yilan County. No injuries have yet been reported from the quake at the time of publication.
The MRT in Taipei is already running normally and High Speed Rail is expect to resume normal operations shorty. Taiwan Rail Administration (TRA) train tracks are currently being inspected in Yilan City and Nan'ao Taiwan, but the rest of TRA trains are expected to operate normally.
CWB officials are warning the public to beware of aftershocks.
by:Taiwan News