The strongest earthquake Taiwan has experienced in a quarter century hit Wednesday during the morning commute, toppling buildings and leaving at least nine dead, dozens of others trapped and/or missing and nearly 1,000 people injured, officials there say.
The magnitude 7.4 earthquake was the most powerful to hit the island in 25 years, damaging buildings, causing landslides and knocking out power for thousands of people.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake was centered about 15 miles south of Hualien City and struck just before 8 a.m. local time at a depth of 21 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It triggered a tsunami warning and was followed by at least 76 aftershocks in less than five hours, according to Taiwanese officials.
As NBC News reports, it was the strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan since 1999, when a 7.6 magnitude tremor killed about 2,400 people, said Wu Chien-fu, director of Taiwan’s Seismological Center.
According to Taiwan’s fire department, the death toll from Wednesday’s quake currently stands at 9. Among those killed were three hikers, who were hit by falling rocks on a trail in Taroko National Park. The AP reported that a van driver died in the same area when boulders from a rockslide triggered by the quake hit the vehicle. At least 1,011 others were injured, fire officials said. Taiwanese fire officials warned that that figure — along with the death toll — could rise in the coming days.
Some 143 people, many of them tourists in badly-damaged hotels, were feared trapped in the ruins, the Taiwan National Fire Agency reported. Rescue efforts were underway to free 71 workers trapped in two rock quarries in the hardest-hit Hualien region, the NFA said. There were also reports that multiple people were trapped in eight collapsed tunnels in and around Hualien City, about 70 miles southeast of the Taiwanese capital Taipei. The authorities have still not been able to reach at least 50 people who were riding in mini-buses through Taroko National Park when the quake struck and knocked out local phone networks.
Hualien City has a population of around 106,000. The county’s population is around 340,000.
As the Associated Press reports, people are accustomed to regular quakes in Taiwan, which has some of the world’s most advanced preparedness systems. “But authorities said they had expected a relatively mild earthquake and accordingly did not send out alerts,” the AP reported. “The eventual temblor was strong enough to scare even people who are used to such shaking.”
Two buildings in Hualien, one nine stories tall and another five stories tall, that appeared to be pancaked and twisted into odd angles. A major highway also saw extensive damage. A 10-story residential and commercial building in Hualien, called the Uranus Building, partially collapsed. Many of its residents managed to escape, but others were feared missing.
One video shared widely on social media showed the building leaning to one side, stunning onlookers. Other videos showed cars and buses swaying on a highway during the morning rush hour, and drivers coming to a halt on a trembling roadway. Television footage showed people, including a toddler, climbing through windows of another partially collapsed building as rescue workers raced to evacuate it.
Taiwan is home to TSMC, one of the biggest companies in the country’s crucial semiconductor manufacturing industry. A spokesperson said its safety systems were operating normally and that some fabrication plants had been evacuated as a preventive measure. “All personnel are safe, and those evacuated are beginning to return to their workplaces,” the company said in a statement. “The company is currently confirming the details of the impact.”
More than 87,000 households had their power knocked out by the quake and the subsequent series of aftershocks, the biggest of which measured 6.5, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration.
The earthquake was also felt in all parts of Taiwan, the Central News Agency reported. Metro systems in Taipei, the capital, as well as the cities of Taichung and Kaohsiung, were suspended before mostly resuming, the agency said.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said a disaster response center had been set up and that the National Army would provide support to local governments. She also warned her constituents to be wary of aftershocks. “I would like to remind everyone not to take the elevator for the time being, and to pay more attention to safety,” the president said.
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