Strong aftershocks continued to rattle Taiwan on Tuesday after a deadly earthquake claimed the lives of 17 people in the island's eastern county of Hualien in early April, but there were no reports of casualties following the latest temblors.
The aftershocks in the early hours of Tuesday registered magnitudes of 6.0 and 6.3, respectively, leaving at least two multistory buildings that had been unoccupied in Hualien partially collapsed and tilted. Another quake registering a magnitude of 5.8 occurred in the morning.
Tuesday's quakes prompted the Hualien county government to announce the closure of schools and offices for the day. Some road closures in mountainous regions have also been reported due to falling rocks.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's leading manufacturer of advanced chips, said its operations at facilities located on the island's western coast have not been affected by the aftershocks, according to local media reports.
The temblors Tuesday were among the over 1,000 aftershocks that have followed the April 3 quake. With a magnitude of 7.2, that was the strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years and it injured more than 1,100 people.
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