An earthquake measuring 7.4 in magnitude happened early on Wednesday morning off the east coast of Taiwan, according to the US Geological Survey.
The USGS reported that the earthquake occurred at a depth of about twenty-one miles at around eight in the morning local time. It was located eleven kilometers southwest of Hualien City.
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According to the Reuters news agency, Taiwanese media stated that some individuals were missing after releasing photos of multiple crumbling buildings in the eastern county of Hualien, close to the epicenter of the earthquake.
At first, the Japan Meteorological Agency had downgraded them to an advisory, but tsunami warnings had reached Okinawa.
The US Tsunami Warning Center stated that Japan was facing a one- to one-meter tsunami threat, while Taiwan was facing a one- to three-meter one.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology states that tsunami waves in the country could last for several hours. Officials stated that there was no possibility of tsunamis striking the Pacific coasts of the United States and New Zealand.
The weather bureau in Taiwan said that the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.2.
There have been minor earthquakes in the area as a result of the larger one that struck on Wednesday, according to the USGS. Those measurements were 6.5, 5.7, and 5.5.
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Taiwan: Seismic Hotspot on the Pacific Ring of Fire
The original earthquake would have produced “very strong” shaking in the Hualien area and on Puli, in addition to strong shaking elsewhere. The province of Fujian was the epicenter of the earthquake, according to China’s state media, however Reuters was notified by a witness that Shanghai was also affected.
A live YouTube camera at Liyu Lake near Hualien, which had been filming a calm, sunlit countryside, began to tremble violently at 7:58 a.m. local time.
Hualien City, situated on the eastern coast of the island and roughly 70 miles southeast of Taipei, the capital, is home to over 106,000 people.
On the Pacific Ring of Fire, Taiwan is the most seismically active area in East Asia.
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