Taiwanese authorities announced that four people, including three climbers, were killed and about 700 injured in Hualien County.
Taiwan has been hit by its strongest earthquake in a quarter of a century, with a magnitude 7 quake killing at least four people, injuring hundreds, and triggering a tsunami warning, with no damage or casualties. Ta.
Wednesday's earthquake caused buildings to collapse from their foundations and caused landslides in the eastern part of the island. Dozens of buildings collapsed in the eastern city of Hualien.
Taiwanese authorities said four people, including three climbers, were killed and more than 700 injured in a rockfall in Hualien County.
Rescue teams are working to rescue about 20 people believed to be trapped under the rubble, authorities said.
In the capital, Taipei, vehicles were parked on the side of the road, the city's subway system was temporarily suspended, tiles from old buildings were scattered, and furniture was toppled by the force of the earthquake.
A series of aftershocks were felt in the Tokyo metropolitan area about 15 minutes later, and continued for an hour. Taiwanese authorities announced that due to the strength of the earthquake, aftershocks may continue for the next three to four days.
Stacey Liu, a Chinese language teacher in Taipei who was teaching classes online when the quake struck, said it brought back childhood memories of Taiwan's worst earthquake in 1999, which killed more than 2,400 people.
“I was freaking out. I felt like something terrible was going to happen again because I've been through 1999, so I know how scary it is,” Liu told Al Jazeera. Told.
“I was ordering takeout. [construction] We got our helmets ready, got our guinea pigs ready, and put water and snacks under the table in case something weird happened. ”
Kimmy van Statmen, a user experience (UX) designer in Taipei, said the earthquake caught her off guard.
“At first we thought it was a small earthquake, but then it was definitely much more intense than before. We have sliding glass doors on our balcony and at the entrance to the apartment, and they swung open. But I didn't know that such a thing was possible,'' van Stadmen told Al Jazeera.
“after that [our cat] Beef runs and runs into the bedroom and all the books start falling out. ”
Wu Jianfu, director of the Taipei Seismology Center, said the earthquake was estimated to have a magnitude of 7.2 to 7.7, making it the largest since the 1999 earthquake that hit the island.
“The earthquake is close to land and shallow. It is felt across Taiwan and on offshore islands,” Wu told reporters.
Taiwan's earthquake warning system, which typically issues warnings several minutes in advance, was not activated before the quake.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii announced late Tuesday that the threat had “passed” after tsunami warnings were issued for Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JAM) has lifted all tsunami advisories after calling on residents of Okinawa's main island, Miyako Island and Yaeyama Island to evacuate amid warnings of waves up to 3 meters (9.8 feet) high. .
According to the agency, waves approximately 0.3 meters in height were observed along the coast of Yonaguni Island about 15 minutes after the earthquake occurred.
Following the warning, Okinawa's main airports suspended operations.
The Philippine Earthquake Authority lifted the warning after warning that coastal areas would be hit by “high tsunami waves.”
Taiwan is located on a tectonic belt in the Pacific Ocean known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, where about 90 percent of all earthquakes occur.
The autonomous island has strict building regulations and disaster awareness programs in place to reduce casualties from earthquakes.
