Taiwan's magnitude 6.3 temblor linked to Hualien earthquake: CWA

Taipei, Aug. 17 (CNA) The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has walked back its previous statement that the magnitude 6.3 quake which struck off Taiwan's eastern coast early Friday was an independent event, saying it was actually a major aftershock of the earthquake that shook Hualien in April.

The CWA's preliminary observation had indicated that the epicenter of Friday's temblor was located at 34.2 kilometers southeast of Hualien County Hall, with a depth of 9.7 kilometers.

However, the agency amended its report on Friday afternoon, revising the location further west to 23.78°N, 121.71°E, and the depth to 19.36 km, after conducting further analysis.

The new epicenter is 4.22 km from the location of the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that rattled Hualien County on April 3, while the original epicenter reported on Friday morning was 15.63 km from that of the Hualien quake.

The CWA has now classified the latest major temblor as an aftershock of the Hualien earthquake, the largest recorded in Taiwan since the 921 Jiji earthquake in 1999.

Due to fewer aftershocks in the area southeast of the Hualien earthquake's epicenter, less seismic stress has been released, increasing the likelihood of higher magnitude earthquakes in that region, said Wu Chien-fu (吳健富), director of the CWA's Seismological Center.

Wu noted that it is rare to observe an aftershock of such intensity four months after the main quake and reminded the public that temblors of magnitude 5.5 or above may occur within the next three days.

Early Saturday, the CWA also recorded four more tremors in eastern Taiwan, with three in Hualien County or off its shore and one in Yilan County's Nanao Township.

The three tremors in Hualien County ranged from magnitude 4.1 to 4.7, while the one in Yilan registered a magnitude of 3.8.

As of 10:30 a.m. Saturday, the CWA has recorded 1,655 aftershocks from the Hualien earthquake.