Taiwan Earthquake: Death Toll Rises as Island Rocked by Strongest Quake in Decades

Taiwan Earthquake: Death Toll Rises as Island Rocked by Strongest Quake in Decades

The greatest earthquake to strike Taiwan in 25 years has left over 800 people injured and nine people dead from earthquakes of magnitude 7 or higher. A tsunami warning was issued, however it was lifted without causing any damage or casualties.

The earthquake that struck on Wednesday caused buildings to tremble, and landslides happened in the island's eastern region. The eastern city of Hualien saw the collapse of numerous buildings.

At least nine people were killed in Hualien County, according to Taiwanese media, citing fire safety officials. Among the casualties were three pedestrians and one engineering employee who were struck by falling boulders. At least 821 others were also injured.

 Rescue crews were reportedly attempting to free at least 127 persons who were thought to be trapped in landslides or in need of rescue, according to Taiwanese news channel SETN.

 According to the fire safety office, officials lost communication with about fifty people who were riding in minibuses when the earthquake caused the phone networks to go down.

 Cars parked near the edge of the road in Taipei's capital, and the subway system was temporarily shut down as the strength of the earthquake caused furniture to collapse over and tiles to fall off of old buildings.

 Aftershocks began to be felt in the capital about fifteen minutes later and persisted for the next hour. According to Taiwanese officials, given the magnitude of the earthquake, aftershocks might last for the next three to four days.

 Stacey Liu, a Chinese educator in Taipei, was conducting an online lesson at the time of the earthquake and expressed that it reminded her of Taiwan's biggest earthquake in 1999, which claimed the lives of almost 2,400 people.

 "I was in a panic. Because I went through 1999, I know how terrible it can be, so I felt like horrible things were occurring again," Liu told a TV Channel.

 "I was taking out [construction] helmets, preparing our torches, and putting some water and snacks under the table in case something strange happens."

 Taipei-based user experience (UX) designer Kimmy Fan-Stateman expressed her concern about the earthquake.

 "I had assumed it would be a minor earthquake at first, but it quickly grew stronger than usual. Fan-Stateman told a private news channel, "We have a sliding glass door that serves as our balcony and apartment entrance, and it opened, which I didn't know was possible."

 "Then [our cat] Beef ran around and ran towards the bedroom, and all the books fell."

The most violent earthquake to strike the island since the 1999 earthquake, according to Wu Chun-fu, director of the Earthquake Center in Taipei, was an earthquake of an intensity between 7.2 and 7.7.

 "The earthquake is shallow and occurs near the surface. All of Taiwan and the other islands felt it," Wu informed reporters.

 The earthquake occurred without Taiwan's earthquake warning system, which typically sounds alerts a few minutes beforehand.

Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines all received tsunami warnings, but the United States' Pacific Tsunami Warning Center declared late on Tuesday that the threat had "diminished."

Before withdrawing all tsunami advisories, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) had earlier advised residents of the islands of Okinawa, Miyako, and Yaeyama to evacuate between waves as high as three meters (9.8 feet).

The agency said that a wave of 0.3 meters (1 foot) in height was seen on Yonaguni Island's shore approximately 15 minutes following the earthquake.

Flights were halted at Okinawa's major airport following the alarm.

Following the tsunami warning, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology rescinded its advisory, stating that "high tsunami waves" were anticipated in coastal areas.

Nearly 90% of earthquakes occur in the Pacific "Ring of Fire," which is the geological belt that Taiwan is located on.

 Tight building codes and disaster awareness initiatives are in place on the self-governing island to lower the number of fatal earthquakes.