A strong earthquake off the coast of Taiwan caused a Tsunami alert on Monday. According to Japan Meteorological Agency the earthquake measured 6.8 on the Richter scale.
The earthquake occurred at 9.43 am local time and the epicenter of the quake was 71 km southeast of Su’ao, Taiwan. Immediately after the quake an alert was issued for the nearby islands, advising people to leave the waters and move away from the coast. According to Japan Meteorological Agency the depth of the earthquake was shallow (around 29 km). The alert was lifted after an hour.
According to local authorities only minor injuries to people were reported. Minor damage to property was also reported. An apartment fire broke out in New Taipei City after an electric transformer exploded after the quake. In this fire two people were injured. The quake caused a water pipe to burst on the streets of New Taipei City and malfunctioning of a mechanical parking tower which damaged vehicles.
Taiwan lies in the most active geological region called ‘ring of fire’. This region is located along the edges of the Pacific Ocean. These kinds of earthquake are common. It’s a common practice to issue Tsunami warnings following such strong earthquakes. It will not be surprising to see more such quakes or even stronger ones.
In a previous major incident which occurred in the year 2011, a huge 9.0 magnitude tremblor caused a massive Tsunami which killed around 18,000 people in the Japan region.
