5.3 Quake Hits Taiwan

Earthquake hits Taiwan, with 5.3 magnitude tremor shaking buildings in the capital

• It struck a depth of 19.8 km (12 miles) about 92 km (57 miles) east of Hualien 
• There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties 
• One resident said: 'Quite strong shaking felt over here in Taipei'

An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 struck off Taiwan on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, shaking buildings in the capital, Taipei.  

The quake struck a depth of 19.8 km (12 miles) about 92 km (57 miles) east of Hualien county, which is on the east coast of the island. 

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. 

One resident living on the 15th floor of a building in the capital said to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center that ‘the building was shaking for a few seconds’. 

While a Twitter user wrote: 'Quite strong shaking felt over here in Taipei. I’ll take that as a warm welcome back to Taiwan.'

According to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau, the quake hit at around 1.20pm local time. 

It was felt most strongly in Taitung county, which registered a 4 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale.

In February 2018, at least seven people were killed in the popular tourist city of Hualien after it was hit by a 6.4 quake.

Videos and photos showed several midsized buildings in the area leaning at sharp angles, their lowest floors crushed into mangled heaps of concrete, glass, iron and other debris.

Taiwan sits on Earth’s so-called ‘Ring of Fire’ - a horseshoe-shaped geological disaster zone which sees 90 per cent of the world's earthquakes occur on it.

The seismic region stretches along the Pacific Ocean coastlines, where the Pacific Plate grinds against other plates that form the Earth's crust.

Earthquakes are triggered when these plates scrape or slide underneath one another, and when that happens at sea it can spawn tsunamis.