Taiwan was hit by a MASSIVE earthquake this morning (April 3).
The earthquake, which measured 7.2 Ritcher scale happened around 7:58 AM this morning at Hualian. The major quake was felt across the entire Taiwan, as reported by Sin Chew. The MRT train operations were immediately suspended.
People immediately evacuated the buildings and images of collapsed buildings also went viral on social media, showing the severity of the earthquake which was followed by several strong aftershocks.
Following the aftershocks, Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration also issued a red alert on tsunamis in Taiwan and China, with the waves possibly going up as high as 3 metres (10 feet).
In Japan, the local Meteorological Agency also issued a tsunami alert for the southern Miyakojima and Okinawa islands.
It was the largest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years and was felt in parts of Japan and China, too.
According to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, houses in Hualien district were also tilted and damaged. Military personnel have been dispatched to help with disaster relief and schools and workplaces have suspended operations as aftershocks hit the island.
The video below shows riders and drivers stuck on the shaking bridge.
CNN also reported that back in 1999, a 7.7 magnitude quake hit 93 miles (150 kilometers) south of Taipei, killing 2,400 people and injuring 10,000 others. Later in 2013, a magnitude 6.2 quake hit near Hualien in 2018, with at least 17 people killed and 300 injured.
At the time of writing, no reports of death have been issued. We hope all victims are safe there!
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