TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A magnitude 5.3 earthquake shook eastern Taiwan at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday (March 21) and was quickly followed by two smaller quakes, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

The epicenter of the temblor was 49.5 kilometers southwest of Hualien County Hall, with a shallow focal depth of 7.2 km. Taiwan uses an intensity scale of 1 to 7, which gauges the degree to which a quake is felt at a specific location.

The earthquake’s intensity registered as a 4 in Hualien County and a 3 in Nantou County and Taitung County. An intensity level of 2 was reported in Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Taichung City, Yilan County, Changhua County, Chiayi City, Kaohsiung City, Tainan City, and Pingtung County.

An intensity level of 1 was recorded in Miaoli County, Hsinchu County, Taoyuan City, Hsinchu City, New Taipei City, and Taipei City.

At 9:46 a.m., a magnitude 4.4 earthquake was registered 51.3 km southwest of Hualien County Hall at a focal depth of 3.4 km. An intensity level of 2 was felt in Nantou County, while an intensity level of 1 was reported in Taitung county, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Taichung City, and Yilan County.

A third temblor struck at 9:54 a.m. 50.5 km southwest of Hualien County Hall at a focal depth of 5.2 km. An intensity level of 3 was registered in Hualien County and an intensity level of 1 was reported in Nantou County and Taichung City.

No injuries or damage from the quake had been reported at the time of publication.

Magnitude 4.4 quake. (CWB image)

Magnitude 3.9 temblor. (CWB image)