Earthquake of magnitude 7.2 on the Richter scale hits Taiwan, tsunami warning issued

(Patria) - An earthquake of magnitude 7.2 on the Richter scale off the coast of Taiwan shook the capital Taipei on Wednesday morning, cutting power in several parts of the city and triggering a tsunami warning for islands in southern Japan and the Philippines, Reuters reported.

Taiwanese television stations showed footage of some collapsed buildings in Hualien, near the epicenter of the quake, and media reported that some people were trapped. The earthquake could be felt as far as Shanghai, a Reuters witness said.

The epicenter of the earthquake was near the coast of the eastern county of Hualien, in waters off the eastern coast of the island of Taiwan, Taiwan's Central Weather Administration said.

Japan issued an evacuation warning for coastal areas of the southern Okinawa prefecture. Tsunami waves of up to 3 meters are expected to reach large areas of Japan's southwestern coast, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, which estimated the quake at magnitude 7.5. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology also issued a warning for residents in coastal areas of several provinces, urging them to evacuate to higher ground.

The earthquake was felt in Fuzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou and Ningde in China's Fujian province, Chinese state media reported.

Największe od 25 lat trzęsienie ziemi nawiedziło Tajwan, powodując zawalenie się lub uszkodzenie wielu budynków – podała agencja AP.
Magnituda wyniosła według różnych ośrodków badawczych między 7,2 a 7,7. pic.twitter.com/dfqhPeeL6y

— Michalina 🇵🇱 🇯🇵 (@Another75824671) April 3, 2024

The Taipei city government received no reports of damage. The Southern Taiwan Science Park, where semiconductor giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co has a plant, said companies were operating without disruption.

Taiwan's official Central News Agency said the earthquake was the largest to hit the island since 1999, when a magnitude 7.6 quake killed about 2,400 people.