Eight moderately strong earthquakes and 221 aftershocks hit
Taiwan early yesterday morning, with at least three casualties and
power to 24,000 homes temporarily cut off.
The eight quakes, measuring from 4.2 to 5.9 on the Richter scale
truck Su'ao, on Taiwan's northeastern corner, between 2:59 AM and
11:02 AM, the Seismological Observation Center said.
In Ilan County near the quake's epicenter, one high school
student was injured when he jumped from a second-floor window, and
an elderly woman was injured when she fell on a staircase.
Another woman had a heart attack due to the scare and was rushed
to hospital.
Thousands of people in Ilan camped out in parks and on school
campuses yesterday morning, fearing that a stronger quake might
follow.
The quakes temporarily cut off electrical power to 24,000 homes
in the county.
In Taipei, buildings shook violently, windows rattled and
objects fell from shelves when the strongest two quakes struck.
Many Taipei residents ran into the street and remained outside
until dawn.
The observation center said the seismic activity along the
northeastern coast results from the release of tectonic energy,
caused by friction between the Filipino Plate and Eurasian Plate in
the Pacific Ocean.
"Moderate quakes could occur in the next two to four weeks, but
people should not panic," said Kuo Kai-wen, director of the
center.
(China Daily, China.org.cn, March 7, 2005)