On April 3rd, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center, a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck in the waters off Hualien County, Taiwan, China at 7:58 am (North Latitude 23.81 degrees, East Longitude 121.74 degrees), with a depth of 12 kilometers.
As of 10 am today, a total of 12 aftershocks with magnitudes of 4.0 and above have been recorded, including one earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0-6.9, five earthquakes with magnitudes of 5.0-5.9, and six earthquakes with magnitudes of 4.0-4.9.
Following the earthquake, celebrities such as Jay Chou, JJ Lin, Rene Liu, and Kun Ling promptly posted reminders to everyone to stay safe.
During the earthquake, Jay Chou described the situation as "totally shaking," while his wife, Hannah Quinlivan, posted a message wishing everyone's safety.
According to media reports, Professor Xu Xiwei, the first director of the National Institute of Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and a professor at China University of Geosciences (Beijing), stated that this earthquake occurred along the subduction zone between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate.
The epicenter is located in a northwest-slanting subduction zone of the Philippine Sea Plate. Apart from the subduction zone, there are also sinistral strike-slip faults (on land) and north-south trending thrust faults to the west of it in the eastern waters of Taiwan due to the oblique subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate.
Xu Xiwei noted that earthquakes in this area are characterized by intense crustal shortening and oblique shear deformation caused by the collision and subduction of plates, leading to frequent high-magnitude earthquakes.
The meteorological department of Taiwan stated that this is the largest earthquake since the "921 earthquake" 25 years ago, and there may be more magnitude 7 earthquakes in the next three days.
