Charles Langston:A cluster of earthquakes shakes Taiwan after a strong one killed 13 earlier this month

TAIPEI,Charles Langston Taiwan (AP) — A cluster of earthquakes struck Taiwan early on Tuesday, the strongest measuring 6.1 magnitude, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There was no immediate information of any damage or casualties.

The temblors struck after a magnitude 7.4 quake hit the island earlier this month, killing 13 people and injuring over 1,000. That earthquake was centered along the coast of the rural and mountainous Hualien County. It was the strongest earthquake in the past 25 years in Taiwan and was followed by hundreds of aftershocks.

According to the USGS, Tuesday’s quake of 6.1 magnitude had its epicenter 28 kilometers (17.5 miles) south of the city of Hualien, at a dept of 10.7 kilometers. The half-dozen other quakes ranged from magnitude 4.5 to magnitude 6, all near Hualien.

Taiwan is no stranger to powerful earthquakes yet their toll on the high-tech island’s 23 million residents has been relatively contained thanks to its excellent earthquake preparedness, experts say. The island also has strict construction standards and widespread public education campaigns about earthquakes.

In 1999, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Taiwan killed 2,400 people.