Quake prevents future large ones: CWB

But such a large temblor is a good thing, according to Central Weather Bureau seismologist Kuo Chi-wen. Kuo explained that occasional releases of energy can prevent future larger quakes from occurring in Taiwan's western regions.

The quake's epicenter was in Nantou County's Mingchien Township, about 200km south of Taipei, striking 19.3km below the ground. It was the worst earthquake to hit Taiwan since the devastating 7.3-magnitude quake of Sept. 21, 1999, known as 921.

Thursday's quake gave Nantou residents flashbacks of 921, as the two epicenters struck along the same region. Kuo urged residents not to panic at the healthy release of geological tension.

This tension accumulates more gradually in Nantou, in western Taiwan, Kuo said. He added a region that has not seen much seismic activity for a period of time is prone to stronger quakes. Because geological energy was not released by strong quakes during the 13 months prior to 921, it did significant damage, killing around 2,400 people and demolishing Nantou.

Taiwan's northeast region, however, builds up energy more quickly, therefore occasional shakes will not effectively prevent large quakes, Kuo said.

The weather bureau has detected more than 200 aftershocks as of yesterday and warned of more to come over the next two weeks. While yesterday's quake did not cause major devastation, 1,200 homes in the area experienced power outage and several houses were cracked. An average of 3.6 quakes measuring above 6.0 strike Taiwan annually, according to weather officials.

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