According to the official Weibo of the National Seismological Network, at 7:58 on April 3, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake occurred in the waters of Hualien County, Taiwan (23.81 degrees north latitude, 121.74 degrees east longitude), with a focal depth of 12 kilometers. Subsequently, multiple aftershocks with higher magnitudes occurred. This time, the epicenter was located in the sea, about 14 kilometers away from Taiwan Island.

　　The earthquake caused strong earthquakes across the island of Taiwan. The earthquake was very obvious in Fujian and Guangdong, and there were also earthquake feedback in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai and other places.

Frequent aftershocks of high magnitude

　　In addition to the current maximum magnitude of 7.3, there have been many aftershocks since then.

　　According to the official measurement by the China Seismological Network, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake occurred in the waters of Hualien County, Taiwan (24.10 degrees north latitude, 121.65 degrees east longitude) at 08:11 on April 3, with a focal depth of 10 kilometers.

Weibo screenshot

　　At 08:35 on April 3, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake occurred in Hualien County, Taiwan (24.18 degrees north latitude, 121.53 degrees east longitude), with a focal depth of 10 kilometers.

　　At 08:43 on April 3, a magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurred in Hualien County, Taiwan (23.94 degrees north latitude, 121.57 degrees east longitude), with a focal depth of 10 kilometers.

　　At 08:46 on April 3, a magnitude 5.5 earthquake occurred in the waters of Hualien County, Taiwan (24.07 degrees north latitude, 121.81 degrees east longitude), with a focal depth of 10 kilometers.

　　At 08:50 on April 3, a magnitude 4.9 earthquake occurred in the waters of Hualien County, Taiwan (23.80 degrees north latitude, 121.63 degrees east longitude), with a focal depth of 11 kilometers.

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Violent shaking occurred in many places

　　According to Taiwanese media reports, many places in Taiwan were shaking significantly, the MRT light rail was suspended, and people clearly felt the ground shaking up and down.

　　The city of Taipei was visibly shaking when the earthquake struck. The Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation stated that operations at all stations on the line will be suspended for approximately 40 to 60 minutes and safety inspections will be conducted. The Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation stated that it had received a message of a magnitude 4 earthquake and immediately cleared the trains and suspended operations. Station inspections and track inspections are currently underway, and no abnormal reports have been reported yet.

　　The Kaohsiung MRT has suspended trains on all lines in response to the earthquake, and the light rail has also suspended operations on all lines in response to the earthquake.

　　Violent shaking occurred in many places in Taiwan, and the shaking was felt for at least one minute. Disasters were reported in Hualien, which is located near the epicenter. An apartment building on Beibin Street tilted significantly. Police and firefighters are currently on scene to help evacuate the residents. In addition, a cement water tower on the roof of a building in Hualien broke and collapsed on the spot, crumbling. No other major disasters have been reported yet, and fire brigade units are currently conducting intensive patrols.

　　After the earthquake, some netizens left messages on the Internet saying, "It's so shocking," "It's so scary in Tainan," "It's so scary in Chiayi," "It's also felt in Kaohsiung," and "I was scared to death."

　　Some Taiwanese media reported that when the earthquake occurred, people clearly felt the ground shaking up and down, and the shaking amplitude became larger and larger as time went by. Then the shaking became more and more violent in the left and right directions, and the street lights were like swinging fishing rods.

　　Teachers and students of Bade Beiqing non-profit kindergarten in Taoyuan immediately evacuated the children to an open space in the kindergarten after the earthquake. The incident occurred during school hours. Many parents had no time to run and evacuated with them. When the construction workers of the youth activity center under construction saw the earthquake, they ran outside to take shelter. The construction workers nearby were dismantling the model house. When they saw this, they put down their work, fearing that the steel would accidentally fall and cause an accident.

Part of the fault on Guishan Island in Taiwan

　　Taiwan's TVBS News reported that many houses have collapsed in Hualien City. The casualties are currently unknown. Guishan Island, a famous scenic spot in Yilan, has also been slightly broken. According to reports, disasters were also reported on Guishan Island, located in Toucheng Town, Yilan County. Some people photographed a part of the island that was broken, and a cloud of dust was splashed below. The picture was very scary.

A 7.3-magnitude earthquake occurred off the coast of Hualien County. Some people discovered that part of Guishan Island, a famous scenic spot in Yilan, was slightly broken. Picture from Taiwan TVBS News Network

Experts analyze causes of Taiwan earthquake

　　Xu Xiwei, the first director of the National Institute of Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and a professor at China University of Geosciences (Beijing), said in an interview with China News Service that this earthquake was an earthquake in the subduction zone between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate.

　　The seismogenic area is located in the oblique subduction zone of the Philippine Sea Plate to the northwest. Due to the oblique subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate, in addition to the subduction zone, left-lateral strike-slip longitudinal valley faults (land) have also developed in Taiwan and its eastern waters and to the west. nearly north-south reverse fault system.

　　Xu Xiwei said that the characteristics of earthquakes at this location are: collision and subduction between plates lead to strong shortening and oblique shear deformation of the earth's crust, and frequent high-magnitude earthquakes.

Experts predict that the tsunami caused by the Taiwan earthquake will not be very large

　　After the earthquake, the Tsunami Warning Center of the Ministry of Natural Resources judged based on preliminary earthquake parameters that the earthquake may trigger a local tsunami around the source.

　　In an interview with China News Service, Xu Xiwei said that this earthquake is a thrust earthquake and there may be a tsunami near Hualien on the east coast of Taiwan, but it is estimated that the magnitude of the tsunami will not be very large.

　　Source: China News Network (Wei Xianghui) Comprehensive CCTV News, Global Network, etc.