A 7.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Taiwan on Wednesday, the strongest to hit the island in 25 years, killing one person, injuring dozens and triggering a tsunami warning for southern Japan and the Philippines that was later lifted.
Taiwan’s fire brigade said one person was likely crushed to death by falling rocks in the mountainous, sparsely populated eastern county of Hualien, where the epicenter was, with more than 50 injured.
At least 26 buildings collapsed, more than half in Hualien, with about 20 people trapped and rescue efforts underway.
Taiwanese television stations showed footage of buildings from uncertain angles in Hualien, where the quake struck just off the coast around 8:00 a.m. (0000 GMT) as people went to work and school.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said several small tsunami waves reached parts of southern Okinawa Prefecture and later downgraded an earlier tsunami warning to an advisory. According to her, the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.7.
The Philippine Seismological Agency also issued a warning to residents of coastal areas in several provinces, urging them to evacuate to higher ground.
Taiwan also issued a tsunami warning, but no damage was reported, and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii later announced that the threat of tsunami damage had passed.
According to a Reuters witness, aftershocks were still felt in Taipei, with more than 25 tremors recorded so far, according to the Taiwan Central Weather Administration.
The Taipei city government said it had received no reports of major damage and the city’s MRT resumed operations quickly after the quake, but Taipei Power said more than 87,000 homes in Taiwan were still without electricity.
Taiwan’s official Central News Agency said the quake was the biggest to hit the island since 1999, when a 7.6-magnitude temblor killed about 2,400 people and destroyed or damaged 50,000 buildings in one of Taiwan’s worst earthquakes.
