At Least 9 Dead and 900 Injured After 7.4 Magnitude Taiwan Earthquake

At least nine people are dead and over 900 were injured after Taiwan was hit by a 7.4 magnitude earthquake, its biggest in 25 years.

The earthquake struck the east coast of Taiwan in Hualien County on Wednesday at around 7:58 am local time, multiple news outlets reported.

According to Taiwan’s National Fire Agency (NFA), per CNN, nine people have died and more than 900 have been injured.

Rescue operations are now underway as 131 people are trapped following the earthquake, at least 50 of whom are employees of the Silks Place Taroko Hotel. The group had been traveling to the national park Taroko Gorge at the time of the earthquake, according to Reuters.

Hualien County Fire Department/Anadolu via Getty Images

Dozens more are trapped in the road tunnels of Taiwan, including around 60 people in the Jinwen Tunnel in northern Hualien County and 15 more in the Dachingshui Tunnel, according to Taiwan’s NFA, per CNN.

The NFA added that two German nationals who were also trapped in a third tunnel have since been rescued.

“At present, the most important thing, the top priority, is to rescue people,” President-elect Lai Ching-te said after the quake, per Reuters.

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Ministry of Interior / Handout /Anadolu via Getty Images

More than 100 buildings, including residential homes and skyscrapers, either collapsed or were damaged in the earthquake. As seen in footage of the aftermath shared on social media, some structures have been left leaning to one side.

Half of the damaged buildings are located in Hualien County, CNN reported. The earthquake also left over 91,000 households without electricity.

Tsunami warnings were initially issued across the country and in southern Japan and the Philippines after the quake, causing flight suspensions in airports, per Reuters. These warnings have since been called off.

Around 300,000 people live in Hualien County, where the epicenter of the earthquake took place, and around 100,000 live in the main city. The earthquake is the country’s biggest one since 1999, which reached magnitude 7.6, killing around 2,400 people.

Several aftershocks were felt after the earthquake on Wednesday, reaching Taiwan’s capital Taipei, with more tremors expected to come.