Taiwan shook by the earthquake

A strong earthquake in southern Taiwan on the morning of February 26 caused many areas on the island to shake.

>>>Earthquake magnifies 6.2 Richter off Mexico

Taiwan Weather Forecasting Agency (CWB) announces an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 on the Richter scale. It happened in Binh Dong district in the morning of February 26. The epicenter is located in the flavor of Vu Dai, Binh Dong district and about 20km from the sea surface, Focus Taiwan reported.

The earthquake center is 3 million people away from Kaohsiung, the second largest city on the island of Taiwan and only about 30km away. Taiwan television showed a series of people living in buildings in Kaohsiung leaving the street for fear of collapsing. The railway connecting Kaohsiung with Taipei capital was interrupted by earthquake.

Xinhua quoted the China Earthquake Network Center as saying, the magnitude of the earthquake is 6 on the Richter scale. The two aftershocks, which have an intensity of 4 and 4.2 in Richter scale, appear in Pingtung just minutes after the earthquake.

This is the strongest seismic in Taiwan since the magnitude 6.4 earthquake rocked the island on March 4, 2010. In 1999, strong seismic attacks the island, causing more than 2,000 deaths and seriously affecting the world semiconductor chip market, as it was the leading manufacturer of components at that time.

The epicenter of the February 26 earthquake lies in
Binh Dong district (red) of Taiwan island.

Data from Taiwan's earthquake monitoring system show that many other localities - like Taipei City, Taitung County, Tainan City - also shook by the seismic.

There is no information about casualties and damage yet.