7.4 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Taiwan: 4 Killed, Tsunami Warnings Issued | What We Know So Far

During the morning rush on Wednesday, Taiwan was rocked by a powerful earthquake, causing damage to buildings and resulting in a tsunami that washed ashore on southern Japanese islands.

A five-story building in lightly populated Hualien was heavily damaged, with its first floor collapsing and the rest leaning at a 45-degree angle, as reported by BBC.

7.4 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Taiwan

According to Taiwan's fire department, four persons are suspected to have been crushed to death by falling rocks in the mountainous, sparsely populated eastern county of Hualien where the epicentre was, with more than 50 injured.

It was reported that at least 26 buildings have collapsed, with more than half of them in Hualien, and about 20 people trapped. Rescue work is ongoing.

In Taipei, tiles fell from older buildings and within some newer office complexes. Schools evacuated their students to sports fields and provided them with protective yellow head coverings. Many small children also wore motorcycle helmets to guard against falling objects amid continuing aftershocks.

Train service was suspended across the island, as was subway service in Taipei, where a newly constructed above-ground line partially separated. The national legislature, a converted school built before World War II, also sustained damage to walls and ceilings.

Despite the quake striking at the height of the morning rush hour, there was little panic on the island, which regularly experiences temblors conducts drills at schools, and issues notices via public media and mobile phones. Schools and government offices were given the option of cancelling work and classes.

There was still no word on casualties in Hualien, where a deadly quake in 2018 collapsed a historic hotel and other buildings. Taiwan's worst quake in recent years struck on Sept 21, 1999, with a magnitude of 7.7, causing 2,400 deaths, injuring around 100,000, and destroying thousands of buildings, as reported by BBC.

The Japan Meteorological Agency reported a tsunami wave of 30 cm (about 1 foot) on the coast of Yonaguni island about 15 minutes after the quake struck. Smaller waves were measured in Ishigaki and Miyako islands. Japan's Self Defence Forces were gathering information about the tsunami's impact around the Okinawa region and preparing shelters for evacuees if necessary.

Taiwan's earthquake monitoring agency reported the magnitude as 7.2, while the US Geological Survey put it at 7.4. It struck at 7:58 am about 18 km south-southwest of Hualien and was about 35 km (21 miles) deep. The head of Taiwan's earthquake monitoring bureau, Wu Chien-fu, said effects were detected as far away as Kinmen, a Taiwanese-controlled island off the coast of China. Multiple aftershocks were felt in Taipei in the hour after the initial quake, as per PTI reports.

The USGS reported one of the subsequent quakes as magnitude 6.5 and 11.8 km (7 miles) deep. China issued no tsunami warnings for the Chinese mainland. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre stated there was no tsunami threat to Hawaii or the US Pacific territory of Guam.

The quake was believed to be the biggest in Taiwan since a temblor in 1999 caused extensive damage. Taiwan lies along the Pacific "Ring of Fire", the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur.

With PTI Inputs