Nine people are dead and hundreds are injured in Taiwan after the island nation was rocked by the strongest earthquake in a quarter-century Wednesday.
Nine people are dead and hundreds are injured in Taiwan after the island nation was rocked by the strongest earthquake in a quarter-century Wednesday.
However, tsunami warnings issued by Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan were lifted after the feared destructive waves did not materialize.
Early reports suggest the damage and death tolls were far below those caused by a calamitous quake in 1999, in which some 2,400 people died and thousands of buildings collapsed. According to multiple media reports, this morning’s quake, variously reported of being a magnitude of 7.2, 7.4 and 7.7, hit at 7:28 a.m. local time, followed by dozens of aftershocks.
Smartphone footage of the quake posted online from across the island shows huge dust clouds billowing up as landslides swallow up roads and collapse cliffs into the sea. Waves of water can be seen rocking out of rooftop swimming pools, and vehicles in the morning rush hour slowing down as inner-city elevated highways shake and swing.
Commentators speaking to international news outlets over video link from Taiwan could be seen shaking from the aftershocks even as they continued to broadcast.
The quake’s epicenter was southeast of the city of Hualien, which lies on the island’s Pacific-facing east coast. At least 26 buildings have collapsed and over 80,000 homes were without power.
