At least nine people were killed and over 800 injured on Wednesday as a powerful earthquake struck Taiwan, causing significant damage to numerous buildings.
According to officials, the quake, one of the strongest in decades, prompted concerns of potential aftershocks in the coming days.
Wu Chien-fu, director of Taipei’s Central Weather Administration’s Seismology Center, described the earthquake as shallow and widespread, affecting areas across Taiwan and its offshore islands.
Despite the intensity of the quake, Taiwan’s strict building codes and widespread awareness of disaster protocols likely mitigated what could have been a more severe catastrophe in the earthquake-prone region, positioned near the convergence of two tectonic plates.
This event marks the most powerful earthquake since September 1999 when a 7.6-magnitude quake struck, claiming approximately 2,400 lives in one of the deadliest natural disasters in Taiwan’s history.
The magnitude-7.4 earthquake struck just before 8:00 am local time (0000 GMT), with the epicenter located 18 kilometers (11 miles) south of Hualien City, at a depth of 34.8 kilometers, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Reports indicated that among the casualties were three individuals who were hiking in the hills near the city when they were struck and killed by dislodged boulders. Additionally, fatalities occurred when vehicles were hit by falling rocks, and one individual died at a nearby mine.
The National Fire Agency reported a total of nine deaths in Hualien County, with 882 individuals injured, although the severity of their injuries was not immediately specified.
