The largest earthquake to strike Taiwan in 25 years has left four people dead

The largest earthquake to strike Taiwan in at least 25 years, measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, struck the island on Wednesday, killing four, wounding scores, and triggering a tsunami warning that was subsequently canceled for the Philippines and southern Japan.

Near the epicenter, in the hilly and thinly populated eastern county of Hualien, Taiwan’s authorities said that four people had died and more than fifty had been wounded.

According to the fire department, at least 26 buildings have fallen, with more than half of them occurring in Hualien. Of those that were severely damaged, 22 people were rescued, and just one remains missing.

As people were heading to work and school in Hualien, where the earthquake occurred close offshore at approximately 8 am (0000GMT), images from Taiwanese television stations showed structures at dangerous angles.

The Central Weather Administration of Taiwan reports that the depth of the earthquake was 15.5 km (9.6 miles).

It was really potent. Chang Yu-Lin, a 60-year-old hospital employee in Taipei, described the feeling as though the home was about to fall apart.

While enormous landslides caused by the tremors ripped down hillsides nearby, video showed rescuers using ladders to lift people out of windows.

The previous tsunami warning was then lowered to an advisory by Japan’s meteorological service after multiple minor tsunami waves were reported to have hit portions of the southern prefecture of Okinawa. It reported a magnitude of 7.7 for the earthquake.

Additionally, the Philippines Seismology Agency warned people living in coastal areas of many provinces to flee to higher ground.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii later declared that there was no longer a chance of dangerous tsunami waves, despite Taiwan having also issued a tsunami warning but not reporting any damage from it.

According to Taiwan’s central meteorological bureau, more than 50 aftershocks have been recorded, and aftershocks are still felt in Taipei.

According to Chinese official media, the earthquake was felt in the province of Fujian, however a Reuters witness said that it was also felt in Shanghai.

The MRT in Taipei was operational shortly after the earthquake, according to the city government, which stated that it had not received any reports of significant damage.

More than 87,000 homes in Taiwan, according to electricity provider Taipower, are still without power. The two nuclear power plants in the nation are unaffected by the earthquake.

Although there have been no reports of damage or injuries on its trains, Taiwan’s high-speed rail operator has stated that trains would be delayed while it conducts checks.

Massive semiconductor manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (2330.TW), a significant supplier to Nvidia (NVDA.O) and Apple (AAPL.O), said that its safety systems were functioning correctly and that it had evacuated some fabrication sites.

“In accordance with business protocol, certain fabs were evacuated to guarantee worker safety. The corporation stated, “We are currently verifying the specifics of the impact.”

Those who were evacuated were starting to return to their places of employment, it was subsequently noted.

The benchmark share index for Taiwan, the.TWII, closed 0.6% down, largely brushing off the effects of the earthquake. The Taipei-listed shares of TSMC closed 1.3% lower.

The largest earthquake to strike the island since 1999, when a 7.6-magnitude tremor left almost 2,400 people dead and demolished or damaged 50,000 structures in one of Taiwan’s worst-ever recorded quakes, according to Taiwan’s official state news agency.

According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration, the earthquake near Hualien County had an intensity of “Upper 6,” which is the second-highest on a scale of 1 to 7.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, most unreinforced concrete-block walls break after an Upper 6 earthquake, making it hard for humans to move without crawling or to stay upright.