Shallow M6.1 and M6.0 earthquakes hit Taiwan within 6 minutes

Two strong earthquakes registered by the USGS as M6.1 and M6.0 hit Taiwan within 6 minutes on April 22, 2024 — at 18:26 UTC and 18:32 UTC, respectively. The agency is reporting a depth of 10.7 km (6.6 miles) for the M6.1 quake and 10 km (6.2 miles) for the second quake. Preliminary data shows epicenters at a distance of about 20 km (12.4 miles).

The epicenter of the M6.1 quake was located 28.4 km (17.6 miles) S of Hualien City (population 350 468), and 73.4 km (45.6 miles) ESE of Puli (population 86 406). 8 000 people are estimated to have felt very strong shaking, 208 000 strong, and 87 000 moderate.

The epicenter of the M6.0 quake was located 13.9 km (8.7 miles) SSW of Hualien City and 58.9 km (36.6 miles) E of Puli. 5 000 people are estimated to have felt severe shaking, 144 000 very strong, 96 000 strong, and 35 000 moderate.

There is no tsunami threat.

The USGS issued a Green alert for shaking-related fatalities and a Yellow for economic losses. Some damage is possible and the impact should be relatively localized. Past events with this alert level have required a local or regional level response.

The quakes struck at 02:26 and 02:32 local time on April 23, during the middle of the night when most people were sleeping.

According to media reports on April 23, several buildings have been damaged but no casualties have been recorded.

This region has experienced hundreds of aftershocks following M7.4 on April 2, with many of them between M4 and M6. The strongest was M6.4 on April 3, followed by today’s M6.1 at 18:26 UTC, M6.0 at 18:32, and M5.8 at 14:11 UTC.

At least 17 people were killed and over 1 100 were injured during M7.4 on April 2. It was the strongest quake to hit Taiwan since the 1999 Jiji earthquake.

Featured image credit: TW/SAM, Google