The people of Taiwan rose to a shaky Sunday morning. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a major earthquake has hit the city of Taitung situated on the south eastern coast of Taiwan. Initial reports by the agency show that the magnitude of earthquake was measured at 6.9 while the subsequent reports showed the reports of 6.5 magnitude of earthquake on Richter scale. This magnitude is considered to be relatively low and therefore no major casualties. Around same time, another earthquake had hit the lands of Philippines. The magnitude of this earthquake was measured at 6.9. It was however not clear if it was the same earthquake hitting both the locations.

The city of Taitung which is the epicenter of earthquake is located in southern parts of Taiwan and the occurrence of earthquake was 195 miles off the city, that is, 295 kilometers. The city of Taitung is situated at the depth of 6.2 miles (10 kilometers). The agency says that the earthquake hit the city at 10:59 a.m. local time or 0259 GMT on Sunday morning, April 25. In spite of an earthquake of such high magnitude, there is no warning issued for tsunami. According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau, there is no risk of tsunami as of now. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre also says that no warning has been issued for a Pacific-wide tsunami.

The impact of the earthquake was also felt in the capital city of Taiwan, Taipei. The buildings swayed for duration of about 20 seconds but there are no immediate reports of casualties. The earthquake has not caused any kind of damage to the property or lives of people in Taipei, till the time the reports were written.

Many earthquakes have been a part of history of Taiwan but there have been hardly any earthquakes of very high magnitude and as a result there have been more or less no damages due to earthquakes in this region. The reason for frequent earthquakes in Taiwan is its position in seismically active stretch of Pacific basin. There have been no major casualties or damages reported due to earthquakes. The earthquake that caused casualties was reported in September, 1999. It had claimed about 2300 lives and was responsible for causing damage to about 50,000 buildings. The magnitude of this devastating earthquake was measured at the intensity of 7.6 on Richter scale.

The earthquakes usually have after effects in the form of some aftershocks. These are a kind of smaller earthquakes. If you live in an area prone to earthquakes, you must be prepared for any accident at any point in time. To protect yourself from these aftershocks, you are advised to bolt your cupboards and book shelves from the walls and keep books and other things on lower shelves so that they do not fall over your heads. Ensure that your house is bolted to the foundation firmly. This may involve some money and may be expensive for you but it is worth an investment as it will save you from a lot of damage in case of an earthquake.