Magnitude 5.9 earthquake in Hualien the 'main shock': CWA

Taipei, May 5 (CNA) A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33 kilometers off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said Monday.

Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking pretty much all of Taiwan at 6:53 p.m. Monday, six other earthquakes over a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09 p.m., occurred in the area.

Wu Chien-fu (吳健富), director of the CWA's Seismological Center, confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was a "foreshock" while the 5.9 quake was the main shock.

Because the CWA initially thought the magnitude 5.5 quake might be the main shock, only to be supplanted by the 5.9 quake 44 minutes later, Wu said aftershocks in the magnitude 5 to 5.5 range were still possible in the next three days.

The magnitude 5.9 earthquake was felt around most of Taiwan. The highest intensity level of 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale was registered in Hualien City, Yanliao, Taroko and Tongmen in the northern half of Hualien County.

Intensity levels of 3 were recorded in Yilan County to the north and in Nantou County on Hualien County's western border.

As of 8:30 p.m. Monday, the only aftershock that had occurred in the area after the 6:53 p.m. main shock was a magnitude 4.3 quake, but its epicenter was on land, 12.3 kilometers west-northwest of the Hualien County government offices.