A shallow earthquake struck southern Taiwan early Saturday, the US Geological Survey reported, a short distance from where a strong quake left more than 100 people dead. The epicentre of the moderate 5.6-magnitude quake was 19 kilometres (12 miles) from Tainan city where a 6.4-magnitude quake last February toppled an apartment complex, burying residents and killing 115. The quake struck at a depth of nine kilometres, 23 kilometres north-northwest of Kaohsiung, the island’s second-largest city, the USGS said in a statement. Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes. The island’s worst tremor in recent decades was a 7.6-magnitude quake in September 1999 that killed around 2,400 people.

Source: Hindustan Times February 11, 2017 03:00 UTC