5.7 Earthquake in Taiwan over Weekend, but little Public Worries

I have only experienced some 6 or 7 earthquakes in my life. I observed the chandeliers shaking and room moving up and down in Taipei Saturday at 4;35 pm, but because I was on the 4th floor and the shaking stopped after about 30 seconds or less, I did not rush out into the street as I normally might have. (I felt no repeat that afternoon. The quake was just above 3 on the Richter scale in the Taipei region where I was visiting on the weekend.–KAS

http://eslkevin.wordpress.com/2011/03/12/will-the-ring-of-fire-earthquakes-in-2011-continue-on-to-north-america/

No injuries reported after country rattled by 5.7 earthquake

Staff Writer, with CNA
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2011/05/01/2003502117
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake hit the northeast of Taiwan yesterday afternoon and was felt across most of the country, the Central Weather Bureau’s Seismological Center said.
The epicenter was in Yilan County, 49km southeast of New Taipei City Hall. It was the strongest earthquake felt on Taiwan proper so far this year, according to the center.
The quake, which struck at 4:35pm, had a depth of 76km and intensity levels ranging from one to four.
The intensity of the quake was four in Yilan County’s Luodong Township (羅東) and three in Yilan City, Hualien City, Taipei City, New Taipei City (新北市) and Keelung.
Statistics from the center showed that four earthquakes with a magnitude of 5 and above have hit the nation so far this year.
The previous three had magnitudes of 5.5, 5.8 and 6.2, but did not affect the main island of the country as much because their epicenters were all offshore.
After yesterday’s quake, the Taipei Metro system temporarily slowed train speeds to 25kph, but resumed its medium and high-speed operations shortly after.
No casualties had been reported as of press time.
In September 1999, a magnitude 7.6 quake killed about 2,400 people in the deadliest natural disaster in the nation’s recent history.