A magnitude 7.2 underwater earthquake hit the island of Taiwan on Wednesday, the most powerful in 25 years. At least nine deaths and 800 injuries have been reported. A tsunami warning was issued, but was finally dismissed a few hours after the earthquake.
In Hualien, on the eastern coast of Taiwan, near the epicenter, two buildings collapsed, and people were trapped under the rubble at the start of the day, according to firefighters on site.
The earthquake occurred at shallow depth, shortly before 8 a.m. (2 a.m. in France) and was followed by several aftershocks. The earthquake initially triggered tsunami warnings in Taiwan, the southwestern islands of Japan and several provinces in the Philippines, where people in coastal areas were urged to seek higher ground. The alerts were then lifted in these two states.
Air traffic suspended
Naha airport, the largest on the Japanese island of Okinawa, suspended air traffic and flights planned to this destination were diverted. However, recordings of departing flights resumed after the tsunami alert was lifted.
“The earthquake is close to the coast and shallow. It is felt throughout Taiwan and neighboring islands… It is the strongest in 25 years, since the 1999 earthquake,” Taipei Seismological Center director Wu Chien-fu told reporters. A 7.6 magnitude earthquake killed 2,400 people in September 1999, the worst disaster in Taiwan’s modern history.
Located on the border of several tectonic plates, Taiwan and Japan are frequently affected by earthquakes. To limit risks as much as possible, both countries apply some of the strictest construction standards in the world.
With AFP