The official figures released by Taiwan’s national fire authority confirm that at least four people have lost their lives and around 60 others have been injured due to the severe earthquake off the coast of Taiwan.
Additionally, numerous buildings have suffered catastrophic damage as a result of the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that shook the island on Wednesday, according to the Central Weather Administration, CWA. The earthquake also triggered a small tsunami, reaching some islands in southwestern Japan.
The quake struck at 7:58 a.m. (2358 GMT Tuesday) at a depth of 15.5 km. The epicentre was located approximately 25 kilometers southeast of Hualien in eastern Taiwan, according to the CWA. It was followed by several severe aftershocks, including one of magnitude 6.5. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.4, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The powerful earthquakes caused major damage to some buildings in Hualien, according to local media. Photos revealed a multi-story building that had collapsed. A warehouse collapsed in New Taipei city, which surrounds the capital to the north of the island, injuring three persons, according to numerous media outlets.
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Photos showed a collapsed multi-storey building.
In New Taipei city, which surrounds the capital in the island’s north, a warehouse collapsed injuring three people, several media outlets reported.
Damage was also reported in other parts of the island. According to eyewitnesses, the quake was also clearly felt in Taipei.
Public rail transport was cancelled in several major cities on the island with a population of more than 23 million. Express train services were also interrupted. Taiwan’s major semiconductor manufacturer TSMC halted production, according to the Hsinchu Science Park Administration, as did Powerchip.
As workers were evacuated during the earthquake, TSMC reportedly checked the state of its production line.
At 8:22 a.m., the Nuclear Safety Commission, NUSC, declared in a notice that the Maanshan nuclear power plant, located in southern Pingtung County, was still operating normally following the shock.
The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that a small tsunami had made landfall on the neighboring Japanese islands of Yonaguni, Ishigaki, and Miyako in Okinawa Prefecture, but it also issued a warning about the potential for a larger, potentially one-meter tsunami.
Prior to this, the US National Weather Service issued a warning, stating that “hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 300 km of the earthquake epicenter…based on the preliminary earthquake parameters.”
It released a notice at 0200 GMT stating that the tsunami threat had passed.In September 1999, Taiwan, an earthquake-prone island located at the boundary between the Eurasian plate and the Philippine Sea plate, experienced a devastating 7.3 magnitude earthquake. This quake resulted in the loss of over 2,400 lives.
Crediblenews.ng
