Four dead and hundreds injured in Taiwan by strongest earthquake in 25 years | Abroad

The Taiwanese fire brigade previously reported that one person had been killed by falling rocks. The victim died in the mountainous, sparsely populated eastern province of Hualien. That was where the epicenter of the earthquake lay.

The death toll could still rise. At least 26 buildings, more than half of them in Hualien city, have collapsed. About twenty people are still trapped under the rubble there. Rescue workers try to free them.

People are also trapped under the rubble in other places. According to the Taiwanese government, more than 700 people have been injured.

Public transport has been shut down in various places on the island. In some regions, Taiwanese people are without power, but there are no large-scale power outages.

The earthquake was felt throughout Taiwan and neighboring islands. The Taiwanese Meteorological Institute is talking about an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2. That would be the most powerful quake since September 1999. Then 2,400 people in Taiwan were killed in an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6.

The Japan Meteorological Institute initially reported a magnitude 7.5 quake. This was later adjusted to 7.7. The institute has measured at least nine aftershocks with a magnitude of at least 4.

The quake occurred just off the coast of Taiwan. Tsunami warnings had been issued for Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines, but these have now been withdrawn. A few Japanese islands were hit by a small tsunami, but it had no major consequences.

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