On late Monday and early on Tuesday, Taiwan’s quake-hit eastern county of Hualien was disturbed by dozens of aftershocks but no casualties was reported as only minor damage was reported.
On April 3 largely rural and populated Hualien was hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that killed over 14 people, and there have been more than 1,000 aftershocks since.
Buildings across large parts of northern, eastern and western Taiwan, including in the capital, Taipei, shook throughout the night, with the largest quake measuring a 6.3 magnitude.
There were no reports of casualties. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker whose factories are on the island’s western coast, stated some staff at a small number of factories were removed, but safety systems were functioning normally and all personnel were safe.
It said in an email, ‘Currently, we do not expect any impact on operations’. On Tuesday morning investors brushed off concerns about the quake, with TSMC’s Taipei-listed shares up 1.75%.
Some road closings following rockfalls were reported in mountainous Hualien county and the government suspended work and school for the day.
‘The spate of earthquakes starting Monday afternoon which it put at about 180 were aftershocks from the large April 3 quake’, said Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration.
Seismological Centre Director Wu Chien-fu said that the aftershocks were a concentrated release of energy and that more could be expected, though perhaps not as strong.
He further added, ‘With heavy rain predicted for all of Taiwan this week, people in Hualien need to be prepared for further disruption’.
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