There are no reports of Filipinos hurt after yet another series of earthquakes in Taiwan on Saturday, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said in a social media advisory.
Taiwan News reported that a magnitude 6.1 earthquake rocked northeast Taiwan at 2:21 a.m., followed by a magnitude 5.8 temblor at 2:49 a.m., according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).
“The first quake's epicenter was 23 km. north-northeast of Hualien County Hall, with a shallow focal depth of 24.9 km,” Taiwan News said.
Taiwan uses an intensity scale of 1 to 7 to gauge the degree to which a quake is felt.
“Migrant Workers Offices (MWOs) in Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung are on alert and monitoring the situation, ready to assist any OFW (overseas Filipino worker) who may have been injured or affected by the earthquake,” the DMW posted.
In coordination with the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, led by Chair Silvestre Bello III, the DMW and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration officers are working with Filipino communities and leaders, local authorities, and employers to ascertain the safety and status of OFWs.
Four Filipinos were reported injured during the magnitude 7.2 earthquake (7.3 and 7.4 in other reports) that struck off the coast of the county in eastern Taiwan at 7:58 a.m. on April 3.
Taiwan News likewise reported that 103 earthquakes of at least magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from Monday to Friday, with 27 exceeding magnitude 5 and two of magnitudes 6 and 6.3.
The CWA said they were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake, with more expected up to a year.
Meanwhile, an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 struck near the Ogasawara Islands in the Pacific Ocean, south of Tokyo, on Saturday, but there was no threat of a tsunami, Japan's weather agency said.
The quake occurred at around 5:36 p.m. at a depth of around 540 kilometers and registered 3 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Hahajima Island, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. There were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage.
The temblor was also felt in the northeastern Japanese prefectures of Miyagi and Fukushima, as well as in the prefectures of Ibaraki, Chiba and Saitama near Tokyo. PNA