Taiwan hit by dozens of strong shocks from deadly earthquake

A series of earthquakes hit Taiwan’s capital Taipei overnight into the early hours of Tuesday.

The government said they were shocked by a huge deadly quake that hit the island over two weeks ago, reports AFP.

The strongest was a magnitude-6.3 tremor originating in eastern Hualien, said the Central Weather Administration.

The first strong quake measuring a magnitude 5.5 struck around 5:08pm (0908 GMT) on Monday, according to Central Weather Administration.

So far, no casualties have been reported, authorities said.

Walls and glass panels rattled in swaying homes as the non-stop shaking meant a restless night even for those in the capital Taipei about 150 kilometres (90 miles) north.

“As a result, I stayed in bed because I was too scared to move,” office worker Kevin Lin, 53, in Taipei, adding that the intense quakes jolted awake him.

A 5.8-magnitude tremor shook the capital around 8:00am when commuters made their way to work.

Around 5:00 pm on Monday, the series of quakes started from Hualien on the central east coast of Taiwan.

Taiwan said the mountainous county was the epicentre of a magnitude-7.4 quake on April 3.

The quake that was the “strongest in 25 years around the main Hualien city triggered landslides blocking roads and severely damaged buildings.

The bodies of at least 17 people were found in a quarry on April 13.

The Hualien Fire Department said two buildings suffered further damage and were leaning after being damaged on April 3.