TAIPEI (TVBS News) — A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan Tuesday (Dec. 24) evening at 5:47 p.m. local time, triggering Taiwan's Public Warning System (PWS, 災防告警系統) emergency alerts across 19 counties and cities. The Central Weather Administration (中央氣象署), Taiwan's meteorological agency, located the epicenter in Beinan Township (卑南鄉), approximately 10.1 kilometers (6.3 miles) north of Taitung County Government at a shallow depth of 11.9 kilometers (7.4 miles). Authorities have not released information about casualties or structural damage.
Beinan (卑南) recorded the strongest shaking at Lower 5 on Taiwan's seismic intensity scale, according to the Central Weather Administration. Six other Taitung County locations experienced intensity 4 tremors: Taitung City, Luye (鹿野), Donghe (東河), Taimali (太麻里), Chishang (池上), and one unspecified area. Hualien County and Pingtung County also reported intensity 4 shaking, though the automated report did not disclose specific locations within those counties.
Eight counties and cities across central and southern Taiwan recorded intensity 3 shaking: Kaohsiung City, Nantou County, Tainan City, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Chiayi City, and Changhua County. Additional Taitung County locations including Haiduan (海端), Chenggong (成功), Green Island (綠島), Lidao (利稻), and Dawu (大武) also experienced intensity 3 tremors. The earthquake was felt as far north as Taipei City, Taiwan's capital, which recorded intensity 2 shaking.
The automated alert system distributed warnings to 19 jurisdictions including Yilan County, Taoyuan City, Hsinchu County, Miaoli County, and 15 other counties and cities across Taiwan. The Central Weather Administration cautioned the automated message "contains inaccuracies" due to time-sensitive reporting requirements and should serve only as emergency response reference for disaster preparedness. The agency has not released details about potential aftershock sequences, tsunami assessments for coastal areas, or revised magnitude calculations.