Today, Taipei was hit with an earthquake that reached a magnitude of 5.7 on the Richter scale, the largest observed quake to impact northwestern Taiwan since 1977.  In recent years, other heavy earthquakes included a magnitude 4.6 earthquake in November 2015 and the magnitude 4.9 earthquake in October 2013.
Taipei felt an intensity of three, according to the Central Weather Bureau, the maximum possible intensity. Taoyuan City, Hualien City, Taichung City, Central Hsinchu City, Nantou County, and Hsinchu County were also affected at level two intensity. Residents of Keelung City, Miaoli County, Changhua County, Yunlin County, and Taitung County experienced level one intensity.
Chen Kuo-chang, deputy director of the CWB’s Seismic Reporting Center, said that the sinking of the Philippine Sea Plate under the Eurasian Plate, known as techtonic subsistence, caused the earthquake.
Classrooms in D Block experienced tremors for about a minute, and those on the ground felt minimal activity. No casualties were reported at press time; damage to buildings was minimal.