A 7.4 magnitude earthquake off Taiwan’s east coast triggered tsunami warnings for the island and neighbouring countries on Wednesday.
Seismology officials report that Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years struck with its epicentre approximately 18km (11 miles) south of Hualien city, causing multiple buildings in the area to partially collapse and lean at precarious angles.
Image from BBC
Videos from Taipei depict buildings shaking violently, causing objects to fly from shelves and furniture to topple, while in Taiwan’s mountainous interior, social media footage reveals massive landslides triggered by the earthquake, with the full extent of damage yet to be determined.
Local media footage shows collapsed residential buildings, evacuations from homes and schools, and the aftermath of smashed vehicles and disarrayed stores, as reported by TVBS.
Wednesday’s earthquake struck at 07:58 local time (23:58 GMT) at a depth of 15.5km, unleashing at least nine aftershocks measuring magnitude 4 or higher.
A Tsunami warning was raised.
With reports and images from BBC and Reuters
