An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the open-ended Richter scale rocked southern Taiwan at 10:35 a.m. Sunday, the largest temblor this year, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).
The earthquake was centered in Wutai, Pingtung County, about 30 kilometers north of the southernmost county’s government, and occurred at a depth of 20 kilometers beneath the surface of the sea, the CWB’s Seismology Center said.
It is also the largest earthquake on Taiwan proper since a magnitude 6.42 earthquake hit southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung on March 4, 2010, the center added.
Nationwide monitoring indicated that the quake had an intensity of 5.0 in Chulu of Taitung County, Sandimen of Pingtung County and Sinhua of Tainan City, while measuring 4.0 in Taitung City, Jiayi County, Kaohsiung City and Yunlin County. It had an intensity of 1.0 in the capital city of Taipei in the north.
No immediate casualties have been reported in the areas affected by the earthquake.
Two aftershocks measuring over 4.0 have since occurred in Taitung, according to the weather bureau.
Also, service was suspended on the south-bound high-speed railwayfor 19 minutes due to the tremor.