Rattled Taiwan hit by more aftershocks

Roads in Hualien county were torn up by Sunday's quake
Roads in Hualien county were torn up by Sunday's quake.

Aftershocks struck southeastern Taiwan on Monday, including a 5.5-magnitude earthquake that was felt in the capital Taipei, a day after a more powerful tremor killed one person and injured around 150 others.

The latest quake hit around 10 am (0200 GMT), 66 kilometres (41 miles) south-southwest of the coastal city of Hualien at a depth of 13 kilometres, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.

Taiwan's central weather bureau put the magnitude at 5.9.

Rural and sparsely populated southeastern Taiwan has been rattled by a series of jolts since Saturday.

The most powerful, a 6.9-magnitude quake, struck on Sunday afternoon, tearing up and bringing down a handful of houses in the town of Yuli where at least one person was killed.

Four others were rescued from a collapsed building, while authorities said a total of 146 suffered injuries.

Taiwan is regularly hit by quakes and most cause minimal damage but the island also has a long history of deadly disasters.

Hualien, a tourist hotspot, was struck by a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in 2018 that killed 17 people and injured nearly 300.

In September 1999, a 7.6- quake killed around 2,400 people in the deadliest natural disaster in the island's history.

© 2022 AFP

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