Dozens of aftershocks shake Taiwan weeks after deadly earthquake

(AFP) Dozens of earthquakes with a maximum magnitude of 6.3 shook the island of Taiwan from Monday to Tuesday. Taiwanese authorities attributed it to aftershocks of a large earthquake that left 17 dead at the beginning of the month.

The strongest quakes occurred six minutes apart around 2:30 a.m. local time, with magnitudes of 6 and 6.3 according to Taiwan's Central Meteorological Administration.

The earthquakes began around 5 p.m. on Monda,y and by 10:30 a.m. the next morning, the Central Meteorological Administration indicated that more than 200 tremors had been recorded.

All of them originated in the mountainous county of Hualien, in the east, near the epicenter of the April 3 earthquake, the "strongest in 25 years" on this island, with a magnitude of 7.4.

Authorities indicated that so far no victims have been reported, although the continuous shaking caused many residents of Taipei, roughly 90 kilometers from the epicenter, to wake up in the middle of the night. Later, around 8 a.m. Tuesday, a 5.8 magnitude quake hit the island again, just as many residents were heading to work.

A Taiwanese government seismologist said the latest swarm of seismic activity originated south of the epicenter of the large earthquake earlier this month. The April 3 earthquake left 17 dead and more than 1,100 injured. In Hualien, the shaking caused numerous landslides that blocked roads and severely damaged some buildings in the city.

The April 3 earthquake has been followed by hundreds of aftershocks. It was the strongest on the island since 1999, when a 7.6 magnitude earthquake left 2,400 dead.