Tectonic Turmoil: Taiwan’s Struggle Against Earth’s Tremors .

Early Tuesday, a series of earthquakes rattled Taiwan, with the most powerful registering a magnitude of 6.1, as reported by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Despite the seismic activity, no casualties were reported. However, the tremors caused further damage to two multi-story buildings previously evacuated after a magnitude 7.4 quake earlier this month, which claimed 13 lives and left over 1,000 injured. Centered along the coast of the rural and mountainous Hualien County, the earlier quake marked the strongest seismic event in Taiwan in the past 25 years and triggered hundreds of aftershocks. Tuesday’s 6.1 magnitude quake had its epicenter 28 kilometers (17.5 miles) south of Hualien city, with depths reaching 10.7 kilometers, while several other quakes ranging from magnitude 4.5 to 6 occurred in the vicinity. Although Taiwan’s own earthquake monitoring center slightly differed in its magnitude assessment, discrepancies between monitoring stations are common.

The most notable among the recent quakes were two measuring magnitude 6.0 and 6.3, occurring early Tuesday morning, with aftershocks felt across the capital Taipei, approximately 150 kilometers (93 miles) away. While some buildings, like the Full Hotel in downtown Hualien, suffered partial collapses, no casualties were reported, largely due to the region’s stringent construction standards and widespread public education campaigns about earthquakes. Despite the island’s resilience, the tremors serve as a stark reminder of the constant seismic threat faced by Taiwan, with the devastating magnitude 7.7 earthquake in 1999 claiming the lives of 2,400 people.