Taiwan Tremor Kills Two; 6.5 Taiwan Earthquake Felt as Far as Hong Kong

A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 rocked Taiwan today. One person was reported dead and at least 21 people were injured in a quake that was felt as far as Hong Kong.

The Taiwan Fire Agency said one man was killed by a rockslide while driving a car in Mountain Ali in the southern part of the island. Another man was killed by a falling rock when he was working at a farm in Chushan, near the epicenter.

Officials said the Taiwan quake caused panic in a multi-story department store as shoppers tried to escape the building that was shaking for about a minute. Households in central Taiwan reported cracks on the walls or ceilings falling. Rockslides at a mountainous area near the epicenter injured several people.

The earthquake’s epicenter struck near the Jenai Township of Nantou County in central Taiwan about 155 miles south of Taipei. The Central Weather Bureau said the tremor depth of 6 miles. The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude at 6.5. The Taiwan tremor was felt all over the island. It was most severely felt in the central and southern regions.

On late Saturday, a magnitude-5.7 earthquake jolted the North Cotabato province and nearby areas in the southern Philippines. At least 33 people were injured by collapsed walls and falling debris and more than 140 houses were damaged in Kimadzil and Kibugtongan. It also caused a landslide that blocked roads with boulders.

Taiwan is frequently hit by earthquake, but most are minor and cause little or no damage. In 1999, magnitude-7.6 earthquake killed more than 2,300 people when it struck Taiwan.

 by Tony Sokol