TAIPEI (TVBS News) — An Earthquake expert reported on Wednesday (Dec. 25) that Taiwan has experienced 511 significant felt earthquakes since the Hualien earthquake on April 3. Despite the country's active seismic year, it is rare for Taiwan to go more than eight consecutive days without a significant felt earthquake. From Dec. 14 to 24, no notable tremors occurred, marking an unusual 11-day lull, Kuo Kai-wen (郭鎧紋) said.
Kuo told TVBS News that the day after the main quake on April 3, Taiwan experienced 83 significant aftershocks, followed by 26 the next day and 21 on the third day. This year, the earthquake activity has been 3.5 times the average from 2001 to 2023, indicating heightened seismic activity. Kuo highlighted that the recent 11-day period without significant tremors is noteworthy. Since 2020, the longest such period has lasted 34 days, occurring once in Aug. 2022.
Other notable periods include two 28-day spans, five periods lasting 20 to 27 days, 13 periods of 14 to 19 days, and 21 periods of 10 to 13 days, excluding this year's Dec. 14 to 23 stretch, he claimed. Kuo noted that after an entire month without significant tremors in August 2020, no large earthquakes immediately followed. However, September 2020 saw four earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater. Kuo advised that the recent 11-day quiet period, Dec. 14 to 24, warrants further observation to determine whether a magnitude 6 or larger earthquake may occur soon.