Magnitude 5.9 Quake Strikes Off of Hualien 凌晨3點多 花蓮外海規模5.9地震全台有感

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck in the sea off of Hualien at around 3 a.m. on Oct. 11.  This was the 55th earthquake with a magnitude of over 5 so far this year.

A security camera inside a person's home shows the moment the earthquake struck. The sudden shaking startled a puppy. The magnitude 5.9 tremor struck at 3:24 a.m. on Oct. 11 off the coast of Hualien. It was felt across Taiwan, with an intensity level of 4 in Hualien County's Heping Village. Many people were shaken awake.

Hualien County Resident: “I got up to take a look. (Did it feel really intense?) The shaking lasted for quite some time.”

The Central Weather Bureau's Seismological Center said this earthquake and the 918 earthquake are unrelated, and has an independent earthquake sequence. It was caused by the subsidence of the Philippine plate into the Eurasian plate. A magnitude 6.0 earthquake occurred in January, and this region is an earthquake-prone region. Taiwan has already entered into a seismically active period, with 55 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5 or above so far this year.

Chen Kuo-chang, Director, Seismological Center, CWB: “I said on Jan. 3 that the earthquake activity this year will continue to be quite active.”

Chen Wen-shan, Retired Professor, Dept. of Geosciences, NTU: “There's no need to worry if there are successive earthquakes but they are limited to that small region. What we should worry about is that region to the south. This seismic zone in Japan extends to Miyako Island. A study that Japan completed 10 years ago said that this area could potentially experience tsunamis.”

Experts say what's of concern is the area to the south of where this earthquake occurred. It hasn't experienced any earthquakes in the past decade. It extends to Miyako Island and tsunamis could occur here. Relevant units are urged to actively understand the risks by investigating active faults on land or deploying seismometers onto the seabed.

國家警報響起，地震發生瞬間，民宅監視器記錄下一陣晃動，小狗嚇了一跳，馬上逃竄。11日凌晨3時24分這起發生在花蓮外海的地震，規模5.9全台有感，花蓮和平感受到4級震度最大，民眾在睡夢中被驚醒。

花蓮民眾表示：「就起來看一下」、「搖滿久的」。

氣象局地震測報中心分析，這起地震與918地震無關，是獨立的地震序列，主要是菲律賓海板塊隱沒到歐亞大陸板塊造成，當地在今年1月也發生過規模6.0地震，屬於地震頻繁發生區域。而台灣已經進入地震活躍期，今年以來規模超過5的地震已經有55個。

氣象局地震測報中心主任陳國昌指出：「確實從1月3日開始，我就說今年的地震活動，是會可能還會持續相當的活躍。」

台大地質系教授陳文山說明：「如果是在那個小區塊裡面陸陸續續發生的地震，其實我們可以不用擔心。但是要擔心的其實它的南邊這一區，在隔壁的日本，同樣它這個地震帶會延伸到宮古島這邊去。日本這邊已經在10年前做完調查，他已經提出說，這是一個重大的海嘯潛勢區。」

地質學者則提醒，要留意的是這起地震發生地點以南的海域，過去幾十年來都沒有地震紀錄，是連結宮古島外海可能發生海嘯的潛勢區，呼籲在地震活躍期，不論是陸地上的活動斷層調查，或是海底的地震儀布署，相關單位要更加積極，提前掌握高風險區域。