Tue. Nov 5th, 2024

A powerful earthquake struck Taiwan on Wednesday morning, with a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale, resulting in casualties, injuries, and significant damage.

Taiwanese television stations showed footage of heavily tilted buildings in the sparsely populated eastern province of Hualien, near the epicenter.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said small tsunamis had reached parts of southern Okinawa Prefecture and later downgraded the previous tsunami warning to a guideline. The magnitude of the earthquake was adjusted to 7.7.

Local media in Taiwan reported that some people were trapped, while the fire department reported one person dead and more than 50 injured.

The Philippine Seismological Agency also issued a warning to residents in coastal areas in several provinces, urging them to evacuate to higher ground.

Chinese state media reported that residents of Fuzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou, and Ningde in China’s Fujian province felt the quake.

The Philippines warned on Wednesday of the risk of a “tsunami” and called for the evacuation of coastal areas across the country after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit neighboring Taiwan.

According to AFP, the state-run seismological institute said in a warning: “We strongly advise residents of coastal areas in the provinces to immediately evacuate to higher areas or move to further areas within the country.”

The first tsunami is expected to arrive between 00:33 and 02:33 GMT and may not be the largest and may last for hours.

The strongest earthquake hit the Taiwanese island since 1999, measuring 7.6, killing 2,400 people and destroying 50,000 buildings.

 

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