More buildings in Taiwan's eastern Hualien County have been damaged by a series of strong aftershocks following the massive magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck on April 3rd. People across Taiwan are feeling uneasy as they wait in anticipation of more tremors.
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00:00 The eastern county of Hualien has been rattled by dozens of earthquakes. That area is still recovering from a massive quake earlier this month that left 17 people dead.
00:09 Now Reece Ayers, he is following this story for us here in Taipei. Reece, you're at the Central Weather Administration. What are they saying about these quakes?
00:16 They're saying that this latest set of tremors are actually just a continuation of the aftershocks from that big earthquake on April 3rd, despite there being about a break of a week or so where we really didn't feel any significant tremors.
00:31 But that's all changed in the last 24 hours as a series of aftershocks continues to rock Taiwan, with some of the bigger ones actually causing additional damage in the eastern city of Hualien.
00:43 Now here at Taiwan's Central Weather Administration, they've recorded dozens of earthquakes between magnitudes 3 and 5, and with at least two bigger earthquakes of magnitude 6.
00:54 Now the majority of those earthquakes are happening at depths of about 5 to 10 kilometers, with some as shallow as 2 kilometers, which is incredibly shallow.
01:03 And when it's that close to the surface, you can really, really feel the shaking. And now we've been feeling those all throughout yesterday and throughout last night.
01:10 I myself live on the sixth floor of an apartment building in Taipei and was woken several times throughout the night.
01:16 But those tremors feel even stronger in the east of Taiwan. John Van Triest has the latest about how those tremors are affecting Hualien.
01:25 A sleepless night in an earthquake-stricken city. Just three weeks after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit Hualien, fresh aftershocks rattled the city every few minutes well into the morning.
01:39 Some reached magnitude 6 or greater.
01:41 Two buildings were unable to withstand the shaking. One had already been condemned.
01:52 But the other, which housed a hotel, had not been flagged as potentially unsafe.
02:07 Firefighters rushed to help find people trapped inside. This woman was taken to a nearby hospital just to be safe.
02:13 Meanwhile, those able to get out themselves brought whatever they could carry, realizing they've now joined the thousands of people already displaced by Hualien's recent earthquakes.
02:24 Hualien County officials canceled all work and classes Tuesday, warning that more aftershocks are coming.
02:31 The magnitude 7.2 earthquake is a frequent and ongoing phenomenon. I think everyone is in a state of panic from last night until now.
02:39 So please, if you can, please stay inside the building as far as possible.
02:47 And while seismologists say what's happening in Hualien isn't unusual after a major earthquake, they say the shaking could continue for some time.
02:56 Looking at the past, a major earthquake could last for months or even half a year.
03:05 They say there's even a very small chance an even bigger earthquake could be on the way.
03:10 The past statistics show that there's a 5% chance of an earthquake.
03:16 There is no way to predict earthquakes, though, making this a matter of chance.
03:22 The one thing seismologists agree on is that Taiwan is one part of the world where quakes are bound to happen.
03:28 The only thing people in Hualien and elsewhere across the country can do is to prepare for even more tremors ahead.
03:36 Luffy Lee and Jon Van Triest for Taiwan Plus.
03:39 And so as Jon mentioned there, there's a general feeling of uncertainty.
03:46 Just in the last few hours I myself have felt several decent shakes and everyone's just kind of hoping that it's not a sign of something bigger to come.
03:55 So Reece, based on what we just heard, what can we expect moving forwards?
04:00 Well, the government are taking precautions just in case these are not aftershocks but in fact foreshocks of something bigger to come.
04:09 So far it's only Hualien that's closed schools and asked people not to go to work.
04:14 But the government is asking people not to go to the mountainous regions of the country.
04:18 As we saw with that massive 7.2 quake earlier in April, it's really landslides that's caused the majority of the death and destruction.
04:27 But there does seem to be some issue here or inconsistencies with Taiwan's earthquake notification system.
04:33 I myself haven't received a single notification even for the bigger quakes, whereas I know some people have been getting those messages.
04:40 But right now, as I said, there's just a sense of unease across the country, particularly in Hualien where people say they're feeling scared and panicked.
04:48 And everyone's kind of just on edge. It feels like we're just waiting for the next big shake to happen.
04:53 happen.
04:54 Thank you.