Moderate earthquake rattles northeastern Taiwan

July 9th, 2010 - 3:12 am ICT by BNO News  

TAIPEI (BNO NEWS) — A moderate earthquake rattled northeastern Taiwan on early Friday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The 5.4-magnitude earthquake at 3.43 a.m. local time (1943 GMT Thursday) was centered about 47.3 kilometers (29.3 miles) southeast of Yilan City, in northeastern Taiwan. It struck approximately 17.9 kilometers (11.1 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the country’s Central Weather Bureau.

The agency reported that the largest intensity felt was in the magnitude 5 range in Yilan County, while Hualien County experienced light shaking with a magnitude in the 4 range. Slight shaking may have been felt in the capital.

The United States Geological Survey measured the strength of the earthquake at 5.2 on the Richter scale. There were no reports of damage or casualties as a result of the early morning earthquake.

On March 4, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the mountainous area of Kaohsiung County in southwestern Taiwan. A total of 96 people were reported injured, while hundreds of homes were damaged.

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