Buildings Tilted, Bridges Swaying As Taiwan Hit By Massive Earthquake

New Delhi:

A massive earthquake hit Taiwan today, killing four people and injuring at least 60, and triggering tsunami warnings in Japan and the Philippines. Dramatic visuals on social media show buildings shaking, bridges swaying and people scrambling for cover.

According to news agency AFP, the earthquake, 7.4 on the Richter scale, is the strongest earthquake to hit the island in 25 years, with officials warning of more tremors in the days ahead. Taiwanese officials report that it is the strongest earthquake since the 7.6 magnitude quake that struck the nation in 1999, killing 2,400 people.

Videos that have surfaced online show several buildings swaying due to the tremors. Another video shows people stuck on a bridge while it appears to swing because of the massive earthquake. According to AFP, multi-storey structures in Hualien and elsewhere tilted after the quakes ended, while a warehouse in New Taipei City was reduced to dust.

Among the four who died, three were part of a group of seven who were out on a morning hike through the hills that surround Taipei city. They were crushed to death after a landslide sent massive boulders their way. The fourth person killed was reportedly a truck driver whose vehicle was hit by a landslide as he was nearing a tunnel.

Local Taiwanese TV channels showed bulldozers clearing rocks along roads to Hualien, a mountain-ringed coastal city of around 100,000 people that was cut off by landslides.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called for local and central government agencies to coordinate with each other, and said that the national army would also be providing support.

In Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines, authorities initially issued a tsunami warning but by around 10 am (0200 GMT), the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the threat had “largely passed”.

In the capital, the metro briefly stopped running but resumed within an hour, while residents received warnings from their local borough chiefs to check for any gas leaks.

Taiwan is regularly hit by earthquakes as the island lies near the junction of two tectonic plates, while nearby Japan experiences around 1,500 jolts every year.