The US Geological Survey issued a Tsunami warning after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake, followed by many powerful aftershocks, struck off the east coast of Taiwan on Wednesday morning. The earthquake damaged structures and triggered landslides in Taiwan.
The earthquake, which registered 7.4 magnitude according to the US Geological Survey, struck around 15 miles south of Hualien County just before 8 a.m. local time. Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration recorded it at 7.2.
Regardless, it was the strongest earthquake to strike Taiwan in 25 years, with tremors felt across regions of Japan and China.
Work and school were interrupted as a result of the earthquake, according to Hualien County officials. Social media users shared photographs of slanted and half-collapsed structures, as well as landslides in the neighborhood. Authorities advised locals to take cover nearby, crouch down, and “stay calm.”
The tremor stranded people in train cars as far away as Taipei and New Taipei City, where the high-speed rail and metro system had been halted.
Taiwan is a major manufacturing center for many of the world’s latest computer chips. A representative for Semiconductor Manufacturing, or TSMC, confirmed that some activities had been halted.
Officials issued a tsunami warning for the country’s coastal sections, while Japanese officials advised residents of the southwestern Okinawa island chain to evacuate to higher ground.
An 11-inch-high tsunami struck Yonaguni, one of Okinawa’s islands, 20 minutes after the initial quake, and officials predict further tsunamis to occur and become more intense.
The earliest tsunamis from a huge Japanese earthquake in March 2011 began at a few dozen inches and swelled to more than 30 feet, resulting in a nuclear meltdown and one of the largest nuclear disasters in history.
Local officials warned that a tsunami of up to 10 feet might impact Okinawa’s main island.
China’s Coast Guards Boarding of Tourist Boat Stirs Panic in Taiwan
China’s Coast Guards Boarding of Tourist Boat Stirs Panic in Taiwan
