Magnitude 5.2 Earthquake Strikes Tainan, Southern Taiwan

Tainan: A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck Tainan, southern Taiwan, at 9:27 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter was located 37.2 kilometers east-northeast of Tainan City Hall, in Nanxi District, at a depth of 14.3 km, CWA data showed. According to Focus Taiwan, the intensity of the quake measured 4 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale in Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Chiayi County. The quake also registered an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City, Yulin County, Changhua County, and Taichung. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake. Wu Chien-fu, director of the CWA's Seismological Center, told CNA that the earthquake was an aftershock of the January 21 earthquake in Chiayi County's Dapu Township, which had a magnitude of 6.4. Wu noted that aftershocks with magnitudes above 5 may still occur in the Chiayi Dapu and Tainan Nanxi areas in the future. However, the frequency of larger earthquakes is decreasing as seismic energy is gradually being released. Mos t future aftershocks are expected to fall within the magnitude 4 to 5 or 3 to 4 range, following a standard pattern of attenuation based on statistical observations, Wu said.