Earth

5.9-magnitude earthquake rattles southern Taiwan

The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 5.9-magnitude earthquake in southern Taiwan Sunday morning, February 26, 2012. The time in Taiwan was 10:34 a.m. (2:34 UTC, or February 25 at 8:34 p.m. CST in the U.S.). The quake is said to have caused some panic in Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s second-largest city, whose greater metropolitan area has a population of nearly three million people. But there was only minor property damage reported and no immediate reports of injuries.

Details of the quake are below, and you’ll find more here.

Region: TAIWAN
Geographic coordinates: 22.656N, 120.834E
Magnitude: 5.9 Mw
Depth: 4 km
Universal Time (UTC): 26 Feb 2012 02:34:57
Time near the Epicenter: 26 Feb 2012 10:34:57

Location with respect to nearby cities:
35 km (22 miles) W (259 degrees) of T’ai-tung, Taiwan
57 km (35 miles) E (84 degrees) of Kao-hsiung, Taiwan
73 km (46 miles) ESE (123 degrees) of T’ai-nan, Taiwan
894 km (556 miles) N (359 degrees) of MANILA, Philippines

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the earthquake sent people fleeing onto the streets of Kaohsiung. A Kaohsiung police officer told AFP:

A few Kaohsiung residents sought safety in the streets for a short while, but it wasn’t many.

Services on a high-speed railway linking Kaohsiung with Taiwan’s capital of Taipei in the north were halted temporarily, railway officials told AFP.

Bottom line: A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck in southern Taiwan on Sunday, February 26, 2012, causing panic, but only minor property damage and no immediate reports of injuries.

Posted 
February 26, 2012
 in 
Earth

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Deborah Byrd

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