At least one person is dead, dozens are injured and two buildings collapsed when a 7.3-magnitude quake struck the east coast of Taiwan at 7.58am on Wednesday.
The quake’s epicentre, was in waters about 25km (15.5 miles) south of the eastern county of Hualien and 138km from Taipei, according to the Central Weather Bureau. The shock was felt across the island.
Tsunami warnings have been issued on the island as well as in mainland China and elsewhere in the region.
Local media footage showed that buildings shook violently for a minute before crashing to the ground, while residents ran screaming.
Nine people were rescued in a partially collapsed eight-floor building in Hualien while five others remained trapped, police said.
Part of the ceiling in Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport fell when the quake struck, airport officials said, adding that there were reports of passenger injuries so far.
Damaged walls, falling bricks and debris were reported across most of the island, police said.
Several mountain sectors of highways in Hualien and central Taiwan were closed to traffic because they were either partially caved in or filled with fallen rocks, police said.
Taiwan’s high speed rail operator said no damage or injuries were reported on its trains, but said trains would be delayed while it carried out inspections.
Power outages were reported in various parts of Taiwan when the quake started, but power was mostly restored by 10.30am, according to the Taiwan Power Company.
The quake was the biggest to hit the island since 1999 when a 7.6 magnitude tremor killed around 2,400 people and destroyed or damaged 50,000 buildings in one of Taiwan’s worst-recorded quakes.
Subways in Taipei were halted, students evacuated from schools and part of the southern Hualien were subjected to power outages, Taiwan local media reported.
The impact of the earthquake could be felt in Japan and off the east coast of mainland China, including in Shanghai, Suzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shantou.
Hongkongers report feeling tremors after 7.3 magnitude quake hits Taiwan
Hongkongers report feeling tremors after 7.3 magnitude quake hits Taiwan
The mainland’s Tsunami Warning Centre under the Ministry of Natural Resources issued a level 1 tsunami alert, or red alert – the highest of four levels – and said it expected there would be further damage to areas around Hualian, including eastern Taipei.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning for Miyako Island and the main island of Okinawa around 8am, with waves expected to reach 3 metres high, NHK reported.
An hour later, Manila also issued a tsunami warning and ordered the evacuation of its coastal areas, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council has offered the island disaster assistance, according to China News. Taiwan has not responded to the offer.
Aftershocks up to magnitude 7 were expected in the next few days, the island’s Central Weather Bureau said.
