A strong earthquake in Taiwan has killed seven people.
Hundreds have been injured, tsunami warning issued after the earthquake was cancelled.
According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CWA), a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck on the morning of April 3. The epicenter of the earthquake was near Hualien, a southeastern city of Taiwan.
CWA said that the earthquake originated from a depth of 15.5 kilometers underground. At least seven people have died and more than 700 are injured due to the earthquake, the worst earthquake in history.
The fire department has put the number of razed buildings at 25. Half of these are in Hualien. Taiwanese broadcaster TVBS showed footage of several collapsed buildings.
Many tilted buildings are also visible in the video. Warning of aftershocks even after the earthquake: According to Wu Chien-Fu, director of the Seismology Center of Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, this is the “strongest earthquake in 25 years”.
“The earthquake was close to the ground and was shallow,” Wu told reporters. Its impact was felt on Taiwan and its islands. An earthquake originating from a depth of 0 to 70 kilometers in the earth is called. Earlier in 1999, a very powerful earthquake had occurred in Taiwan. Its intensity is 7 on the Richter scale.
6, that earthquake killed 2,400 people. Authorities have warned that aftershocks from the strong earthquake could shake the island again in the coming days.
“The public should pay attention to important warnings and messages and be prepared to evacuate after an earthquake,” Wu warned, adding that Taiwan regularly monitors geological activity.
The island is located near the junction of two tectonic plates. Due to the movement of tectonic plates, about 1,500 earthquakes occur every year in Taiwan’s neighbor Japan. Tsunami warning canceled: Japan and Philippines had also issued tsunami warning after the earthquake off the coastal area of Taiwan.
The Japanese administration feared that sea waves several meters high could hit their southern islands. The Philippines had also issued a similar warning for its coastal areas.
However, later both the countries canceled this alert. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wrote on the social networking site X (earlier Twitter) that his country is ready to provide all necessary help to Taiwan.
Calling Taiwan an “overseas neighbor,” Kishida called the news of the earthquake regrettable. In March 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck Honsu Island, Japan. The tsunami waves generated by this earthquake cut off the power supply to the Fukushima nuclear plant.
The Fukushima nuclear tragedy came to light as the cooling of nuclear reactors stopped. The 2011 earthquake and tsunami is believed to have killed about 18,500 people in Japan.