At least nine people were killed and another 900 were injured in Taiwan’s worst earthquake in at least 25 years on Wednesday.
The quake occurred around 8 a.m. off the shore of remote, hilly Hualien County. It hit at a depth of around 35 kilometers (21 miles) and approximately 18 kilometers (11 miles) off the east coast of Taiwan, just as people were leaving for work and school. Data on deaths and injuries are still being verified and differ from source to source.
Online footage shows some of the structures with their ground floors crushed and leaning at sharp angles. In Taipei, the nation’s capital, tiles fell off older buildings, forcing schools to evacuate kids and provide them with yellow safety helmets.
According to the local United Daily News, a van driver died in Hualien after rocks struck his car, while three hikers reportedly lost their lives in the Taroko National Park.
Officials report that there were at least another 934 people injured. As the earthquake brought down phone networks, authorities stated they had lost communication with fifty individuals who were traveling in minibuses inside the national park. A rescue operation was also in progress for six more individuals who were stuck in a coal mine.
A tsunami warning was issued for southern Japan and the Philippines, although it was subsequently canceled.
“At present the most important thing, the top priority, is to rescue people,” said President-elect Lai Ching-te, speaking near one of the fallen buildings in Hualien.
The U.S. Geological Survey measured the magnitude of the earthquake at 7.4, whereas Taiwan’s seismic monitoring agency reported it to be 7.2.
The island’s two nuclear power plants were unharmed by the earthquake, according to electrical provider Taipower, which also reported that power has been restored over most of the Eastern Asian island.
The most recent severe earthquake to strike Hualien happened in 2018, destroying a historic hotel and killing 17. The largest known earthquake to strike Taiwan, measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale, happened on September 21, 1999, and resulted in thousands of demolished buildings, 2,400 fatalities, and an estimated 100,000 injuries.
