2024-04-03 14:38:03
More than 50 followingshocks have occurred and are expected to continue for the next two days.
Courtesy CNN in Spanish | Several buildings collapsed due to the strength of the earthquake.
A strong earthquake shook the island of Taiwan this Wednesday. Its magnitude, according to different estimates, was between 7.2 and 7.5 and it is the strongest earthquake that has hit the island in at least 25 years.
More than 50 followingshocks followed with magnitudes between 3.3 and 6.5.
The Taiwanese Fire Department reported that nine people died and at least 821 were injured.
The deaths occurred in Hualien County, where a hiker was among the dead.
The earthquake triggered a tsunami warning for southern Japan and the Philippines that was later lifted.
The epicenter was located 25 km south-southeast of Hualien County, where the earthquake was felt most intensely, local media reported, citing the Central Meteorological Administration.
At least 26 buildings have collapsed, more than half of them in Hualien. About 20 people have been trapped in the rubble.
Rescue work is currently underway.
The earthquake had a depth of 15.5 kilometers, according to Taiwan’s Central Meteorological Administration.
More images of the earthquake in Taiwan pic.twitter.com/GvruOj1SPY
— Know More (@Sepa_mass) April 3, 2024
Local media estimate that it is the strongest earthquake to hit the island since 1999, when a magnitude 7.6 tremor killed regarding 2,400 people and destroyed or damaged 50,000 buildings in one of the worst earthquakes recorded in Taiwan.
A building was left severely tilted in Hualien. Another eight-storey apartment block partially collapsed and was also left tilted.
Several recordings show the city shaking and large structures, such as bridges, swaying menacingly and containing people.
Large-scale landslides have occurred and continue to occur in various parts of Taiwan.
More damage
According to Taiwanese authorities, buildings have collapsed in Hualien County, thousands of homes have been left without power and a major highway on the east coast has been closed due to landslides and rockslides.
In addition, the island’s Central Meteorological Administration warned that followingshocks are expected over the next three or four days, which might have a magnitude of 6.5 to 7.0, an agency spokesperson added.
In its first report, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense noted that there are leaning houses and damage in Hualien County following the earthquake.
He added that the military has been sent to assist in disaster relief and minimize damage, and that school and workplace activities have been suspended amid continuing followingshocks.
Taiwan’s outgoing president, Tsai Ing-wen, said Wednesday that she ordered her administration to “immediately” take “control of the situation and understand the local impacts as soon as possible.”
He also asked to provide “the necessary assistance” and for his administration to “work together with local governments to minimize the impact of the disaster.”
Collapsed buildings and a damaged road
The full extent of the damage is still being assessed, and road and railway closures restrict access to the quake’s epicenter in Hualien County.
More than 100 buildings were damaged across the island, according to the National Fire Agency, half of them in Hualien County.
Videos from security cameras and mobile phones, broadcast by CNN affiliate Tvbs, showed the moment the earthquake hit.
One video showed power lines swaying violently on a street, another showed chandeliers shaking in a restaurant and a third showed water spilling from a fish tank.
[Warning]Extremely large earthquake of M7.5 off the coast of Taiwan, maximum seismic intensity 6+ on Taiwan’s seismic intensity scale, tsunami warning
Prediction of 3m high tsunami in Okinawa main island, Miyakojima, Yaeyama region#tsunami #Taiwanearthquake #Earthquake intensity 6+ pic.twitter.com/jiVc485Iib
— Bakusai.com[Official]Twitter (@bakusai_com) April 3, 2024
The earthquake left serious damage to a major highway along Taiwan’s eastern coast, the island’s television channels reported.
Footage broadcast by Tvbs shows large rocks falling onto the Suhua Highway, with several tunnels broken, including one that split in half.
SET News, another CNN affiliate, shows the front of a car smashed by fallen rocks.
At least nine rockfalls and landslides have been reported on the Suhua Highway, which was closed, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported, citing authorities.
Another highway connecting the west coast with eastern Taiwan was also damaged by the rockfall, with at least 12 cars hit and 9 people injured.
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