Magnitude 5.2 earthquake jolts southern Taiwan

Taipei, March 5 (CNA) A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck Tainan, southern Taiwan, at 9:27 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

The epicenter was located 37.2 kilometers east-northeast of Tainan City Hall, in Nanxi District, at a depth of 14.3 km, CWA data showed.

The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale in Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi County.

The quake also measured an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City, Yulin County, Changhua County, and Taichung, according to the CWA.

There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.

Wu Chien-fu (吳健富), director of the CWA's Seismological Center, told CNA that based on its location and timing, the earthquake was an aftershock of the Jan. 21 earthquake in Chiayi County's Dapu Township, which had a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale.

Wu said that aftershocks with magnitudes above 5 may still occur in the Chiayi Dapu and Tainan Nanxi areas in the future. However, as seismic energy is gradually being released, the frequency of larger earthquakes is decreasing.

Most future aftershocks are expected to fall within the magnitude 4 to 5 or 3 to 4 range, following a standard pattern of attenuation based on statistical observations, Wu said.