Taiwan’s east coast was jolted by more than 80 earthquakes between Monday evening and the early morning of Tuesday, multiple news publications report.
These quakes come a little over a fortnight after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the county of Hualien, leaving at least 17 dead and more than 1,000 people injured. The island’s largest earthquake in 25 years also caused landslides and substantial damage to buildings.
The latest earthquakes again mainly occurred in Hualien, with the strongest registering a magnitude of 6.3. No fatalities have been reported so far.
Tremors were also felt in Taipei, with one resident telling Reuters that “at 2 am, it shook very strong.”
[See more: Earthquake in Taiwan claims nine lives and over 1,000 injured]
The current earthquakes are aftershocks of the early April quake, according to the director of Taipei’s seismology centre Wu Chien Fu. He said that aftershocks would continue for a period of between 6 to 12 months.
The island’s leader, Tsai Ing-wen, posted a message on Facebook, advising residents to remain calm during the quakes and to adopt the strategy of “duck, cover, stay put.”
Taiwan is especially susceptible to earthquakes as it is situated in the Ring of Fire, an area with a significant amount of seismic activity, accounting for around 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes.
The island has experienced a number of major earthquakes, including one in its south in 2016 that resulted in the deaths of over 100 people. The most serious earthquake occurred in 1999 and caused 2,400 fatalities.
