A magnitude 6 earthquake struck southern Taiwan early Tuesday morning, as per the US Geological Survey (USGS), causing minor injuries to 15 people, CNN reports.
The quake, which occurred at 12:17 a.m. local time, had its epicenter 7 miles north of Yujing, with a preliminary depth of 6 miles. Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration recorded the magnitude at 6.4.
While there were no immediate reports of fatalities, rescue teams are continuing to assess the extent of the damage.
Taiwan’s fire department reported that 15 individuals were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Among those injured were six people, including one child, who were rescued from a collapsed house in the Nanxi District of Tainan city. Additionally, the Zhuwei bridge on a provincial highway sustained damage.
This latest quake follows a more powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck the island’s eastern coast near Hualien in April of last year. That earthquake resulted in the deaths of at least 13 people and injured over 1,000 others, and was followed by hundreds of aftershocks.
Taiwan is located within the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a seismically active zone encircling the Pacific Ocean where the majority of the world’s earthquakes occur. This makes the island particularly vulnerable to seismic activity.
