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Magnitude 6.1 earthquake hits Taiwan, buildings shake in Taipei
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit the Taiwan region, shaking buildings in the capital Taipei.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Taiwan’s southeastern coastal county of Taitung on Wednesday, the island’s weather administration said, with no immediate reports of damage.
The quake, which occurred at a depth of about 11.9 km, also shook buildings in the capital Taipei.
A separate reading put the tremor at magnitude 6.0 near Taitung City at 09:47 UTC (17:47 local time).
Shaking was felt across parts of Taiwan, including Kaohsiung, with strong jolts reported near the epicentre.
The tremor even knocked items off shelves at a supermarket in the southeastern county.
Taiwan’s chipmaker TSMC said the earthquake did not meet the threshold for evacuating its factories, Reuters reported.
Taiwan’s National Fire Agency said there were no reports of damage to the island’s transport networks so far.
The island is frequently affected by earthquakes as it lies at the junction of two tectonic plates near the Pacific Ring of Fire, which the US Geological Survey describes as the world’s most seismically active zone.
Taiwan’s last major quake struck in April 2024, when a powerful 7.4-magnitude tremor, which was the strongest in 25 years had killed at least 17 people.
That earthquake triggered landslides and caused extensive damage to buildings around Hualien.
It was the most severe quake to hit Taiwan since a 7.6-magnitude tremor in 1999, the deadliest natural disaster in the island’s history.
