Earthquake shakes Taiwan, damaging buildings and inflicting a tsunami
A strong earthquake rocked the whole island of Taiwan early Wednesday, collapsing buildings in a southern metropolis and making a tsunami that washed ashore on southern Japanese islands.
Fox – Ktvu
A strong 7.4 magnitude earthquake rocked Taiwan on Wednesday, the strongest tremor to hit the island in at the very least 25 years, killing at the very least 4 folks, injuring dozens, and sparking close by Japan to challenge a short evacuation advisory for coastal areas.
The quake hit shortly earlier than 8 a.m. native time, in keeping with Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration. The quake’s epicenter was situated about 11 miles south of the coastal metropolis of Hualien, about 96 miles southeast of Taipei.
Taiwan’s authorities stated 4 folks had died in Hualien County and greater than 50 folks had been injured. At least 26 buildings have collapsed and about 20 folks had been trapped, in keeping with Taiwan’s nationwide fireplace company.
Rescue operations are ongoing, and aftershocks have brought about residents to flee their houses and stay exterior, Taiwan’s official central information company reported.
Footage from Taiwan tv stations confirmed collapsed buildings in Hualien with some leaning at an angle. Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration gave the quake a magnitude of seven.2 whereas the USGS recorded it at 7.4 with a depth of about 22 miles.
The United States Geological Survey recorded quite a few aftershocks in the identical area, together with one with a magnitude of 6.5. Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration stated it recorded greater than 25 aftershocks.
Rescue and restoration efforts underway
The sturdy quake rocked Taipei, knocking out energy in a number of components of town. Taipower, the state-owned electrical energy operator, stated greater than 87,000 houses in Taiwan had been nonetheless with out energy.
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen stated the army might be deployed to assist with rescue and restoration operations.
“The nationwide army will meet the wants of native governments and supply assist to make sure the security of the lives and property of the residents,” she stated in a press release posted on Facebook.
Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines have all canceled their tsunami warnings. The Japan Meteorological Agency had issued a short evacuation advisory for coastal areas in Okinawa, the place a number of small tsunami waves had been reported.
There was no tsunami risk to Hawaii or the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, in keeping with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. And no tsunami risk was anticipated for the west coast of North America, the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center stated.
Chinese state media reported that the quake was felt in a number of cities within the Fujian province, a coastal province in southeastern China. The Taipei metropolis authorities stated there have been no rapid studies of injury and town’s metro system was up and operating quickly after.
The quake was the most important to hit the island since 1999 when a 7.6 magnitude tremor killed round 2,400 folks, in keeping with Taiwan’s official central information company. The island is usually hit by earthquakes as a consequence of its location within the “Ring of Fire,” a path of lively volcanoes and websites of seismic exercise within the Pacific Ocean the place a majority of earthquakes happen.
Contributing: Reuters
