Strong earthquake strikes off northeastern Taiwan, no damage

[News_Editor]

Strong earthquake strikes off northeastern Taiwan, no damage

2011-10-30 13:21:21 GMT+7 (ICT)

KEELUNG, TAIWAN (BNO NEWS) -- A strong earthquake struck the ocean off northeastern Taiwan on early Sunday afternoon, seismologists said, but no damage or casualties were reported. No tsunami warning was issued.

The 6.5-magnitude earthquake at 12.23 p.m. local time (0323 GMT) was centered about 141 kilometers (87 miles) east of Keelung City, a major port city in the northeastern part of Taiwan. It struck about 221 kilometers (137 miles) deep, making it a deep earthquake, according to the country's Central Weather Bureau.

The Central Weather Bureau said light shaking could be felt along some coastal areas, mostly in Hualien County. However, no damage or casualties were reported and none were expected due to the depth of the earthquake and its distance from any land.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS), which measured the strength of the earthquake at 5.5 on the moment magnitude scale (MMS), estimated some 9.6 million people may have felt very weak shaking.

Taiwan is frequently rattled by moderate and strong earthquakes. On April 26, 2010, a strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Taiwan, injuring 96 people and damaging at least 340 buildings throughout the island.

And on September 21, 1999, a powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck central Taiwan, killing at least 2,297 people and injuring nearly 9,000 others. The quake, the second-deadliest earthquake in the island's history, also left some 600,000 people homeless.

The only earthquake more deadly than the earthquake in 1999 was a powerful earthquake that struck western Taiwan on April 21, 1935. It left at least 3,276 people killed and injured more than 12,000 others. Railways were left destroyed, iron bridges were fractured and tunnels cracked.

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