Four earthquakes, including one that measured 5.9 on the open-ended Richter scale, struck southeastern Taiwan Wednesday, but no casualties or damage were immediately reported.
The four tremors shook Taiwan’s southeastern coast near Taimali Township in Taitung County between 9:08 a.m. and 10:24 a.m., the Central Weather Bureau’s Seismology Center said.
The magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit first, with its epicenter located at sea some 49.9 kilometers southeast of Taitung City at a depth of 16.6 km, the center said.
It was followed by a magnitude 4.7 tremor at 9:10 a.m. and two magnitude 4.8 aftershocks at 10:09 a.m. and 10:24 a.m., respectively.
The first temblor swayed buildings in Taitung County for over 10 seconds, but the county’s firefighting department had not received any reports of damage as of 10:30 a.m.
The magnitude 5.9 quake was felt throughout Taiwan, with intensity levels reaching 4 in Taitung and on the outlying Green Island.
The Seismology Center said the four tremors struck in the area where the Philippine Sea Plate borders the Eurasian Plate.
The last earthquake measuring over magnitude 6 in the region was recorded in 1972, according to the center, which said that all of Wednesday’s tremors off Taitung represented normal releases of energy and were not cause for panic.