This post is continually updated.
In the worst earthquake in Taiwan in 25 years, the number of dead has risen to nine and the number of injured has risen to over 1,000. As the national fire department announced on Wednesday, 946 people were considered injured. The number of various accidents, such as damage to buildings or infrastructure, also rose to over 1,100. In addition, 137 people were trapped in tunnels or buildings, as the national fire department announced on Wednesday afternoon (local time). According to the information, those trapped were all in the district around the city of Hualien, where the earthquake caused severe damage. A total of more than 100 aftershocks were recorded there within eight hours of the quake.
According to official information, two German citizens were also trapped in a tunnel. The two were therefore in the Chongde Tunnel, which is located in Taroko National Park. The national park is located north of the city of Hualien. The fire department announced on Wednesday that the two people had now been brought to safety. However, the fire department did not provide any further information about the condition of the two.
According to the US Earthquake Observatory USGS, the quake had a magnitude of 7.4, meaning the epicenter was 18 kilometers south of the city of Hualien. It triggered tsunami warnings on the self-governing island as well as parts of southern Japan and the Philippines. Later, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) in the US said the tsunami threat had largely passed.
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and Prime Minister Chen Chien-jen were expected at the central emergency control center in New Taipei this morning. The exact extent of the damage was not initially foreseeable.
Photos showed how several houses in the east coast city of Hualien collapsed and became tilted. According to eyewitnesses, the quake was also clearly felt in and around the capital. In New Taipei, which surrounds the capital Taipei, three people were injured when a warehouse collapsed. Residents of the capital reported that furnishings and dishes were broken in their houses and apartments. Public rail transport has been suspended in several major cities on the island with more than 23 million inhabitants. Express train services were also interrupted.
In Japan, northeast of Taiwan, the earthquake triggered a warning of a three-meter-high tsunami for nearby islands in southwestern Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture. Residents of the affected islands were called upon to seek safety. Japanese media also spoke of an earthquake magnitude of 7.7. Authorities in the Philippines also issued a tsunami warning. High tsunami waves are expected that could last for hours, said the National Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). People in several provinces of the island nation were asked to seek safety and leave the coastal regions. A few hours after the earthquake, both countries lifted the warnings.
The large neighboring country China asked Taiwan for help. Chinese authorities are very concerned about the situation, said Chinese Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian in Beijing on Wednesday. The mainland is monitoring the situation and is ready to offer disaster assistance. It remained unclear whether Taiwan would accept China’s help. There are always tensions between the two states because Beijing counts the island as part of China, even though an independent and democratically elected government has been in power in Taiwan for decades.
Taiwan’s major semiconductor maker TSMC halted production, the Hsinchu City Industrial Park Authority said. The company reportedly evacuated workers from production during the quake. The company is currently checking the condition of the machines. The tremors also damaged various roads in Taiwan. The state-owned energy supplier reported that more than 308,000 households in Taiwan lost power due to the quake. Tens of thousands were still without power afterwards.
The last time Taiwan was hit was in September 1999 by a magnitude 7.3 quake. At that time, more than 2,400 people died. Taiwan lies in an earthquake-prone zone on the boundary of the Eurasian plate and the Philippine Sea plate.
