Strong earthquake hits Taiwan and Japan issues tsunami warning

A 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit the east coast of Taiwan this Tuesday (in Brazil, Wednesday morning local time), prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency to issue a tsunami warning for the islands of Miyakojima and Okinawa, indicating risk of waves of up to 3 meters.

Japanese authorities advised the population of the regions to leave these places and seek safe places.

The earthquake’s epicenter was about 18 kilometers south of the city of Hualien. A second tremor, this time of magnitude 6.6, was felt thirteen minutes after the magnitude 7.5.

On the first day of the year, Japan was hit by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in Ishikawa, leaving 230 dead and more than 44,000 homes destroyed. In March 2011, the largest nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster occurred at the Fukushima Power Plant after a magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami hit the country.