Taiwan earthquake live updates: buildings collapse after strongest quake in 25 years; Japan lifts tsunami warnings | Taiwan

Damage and debris can be seen in the compound of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, a national monument and tourist attraction:

The Guardian’s reporter Gregor Hunter on the latest as he reports from Taipei:

Damage was visible on some buildings in central Taipei on Wednesday morning, such as outside the Howard Plaza hotel, where the earthquake had damaged brickwork on its exterior and dislodged some of the lettering on the hotel’s sign.

Mike Hung Hsu, a guest of the hotel, said he was woken up by the earthquake during a visit to Taiwan from the US.

“I’ve never felt this kind of earthquake in LA, even though we have earthquakes pretty often,” he said.

“I used to live in Taiwan, in my memory we never had an earthquake like this one.”

He said his family had canceled a planned sightseeing trip to Yilan county, near Hualien on the island’s east coast, as there was no way to travel by public transport.

Our reporter in Taiwan, Chi Hui Lin, has sent us this translated notice that Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen has posted on her Facebook page detailing the country’s response to the disaster:

Central Disaster Response Center has been set up and various ministries are reporting on the situation in various places, so please pay attention to the various information released by the officials at any time, and please check carefully for any earthquake-related news.

I would also like to remind everyone that some trains on the Taiwan High-Speed ​​Rail (THSR) have been delayed. For those who are commuting, please pay attention to the status of the MRT and Taiwan Railway operations in various places.

In addition, there were a number of aftershocks this morning, and I would like to remind everyone not to take the lift for the time being, and to pay more attention to safety.

Our latest video report on Taiwan’s earthquake:

As we continue to get updates on what is happening in Hualienwhich is close to the epicenter of the earthquake, our reporter Gregor Hunter paints a picture of what the town is like in normal times:

Hualien is a charming beach town sandwiched between Taiwan’s mountain ranges on the island’s east coast.

It regularly attracts tourists from elsewhere in the island for the stunning natural beauty of the surrounding landscape, including the nearby Taroko Gorge national park, and also hosts a wealth of Taiwanese aboriginal culture nestled alongside its backpacker hostels and surf shops.

The city’s position on the windswept east coast affords it little shelter behind the mountain range that shields the rest of Taiwan from incoming typhoons from the Pacific Ocean.

There are only a few road and rail connections and no stops on the high-speed rail service that links cities along the island’s most industrialized west coast, although its coastal highways make it a favorite of cyclists.

The city also plays home to a major air force base, from where Taiwan’s F-16 fighter jets regularly scramble to intercept Chinese aerial incursions.

Hualien’s last big quake was in 2022, when a 6.9-magnitude quake toppled buildings and derailed a train, killing one person and cutting off power for thousands of residents.

A fire department official in Hualien county – near the epicenter of the earthquake – has told Agence France-Presse that “two buildings had collapsed and some people are believed to be trapped”.

In a televised national briefing, Taiwan’s National Fire Agency said 26 buildings were reported “to tilt or collapse”, although it gave no details on the location of the structures.

Philippines cancels tsunami warning

Rebecca Ratcliffe

The Philippines’ seismology agency has canceled its tsunami warning, saying “Based on available data of our sea level monitoring stations facing the epicentral area, no significant sea level disturbances have been recorded since 07:58am until this cancellation.”

It added that “any effects due to the tsunami warning have largely passed” and that the agency had canceled all tsunami warnings issued for this event.

Here are some basic points on what we know so far about Taiwan’s earthquake:

• The earthquake struck 7:58 am local timeabout 18km south-southwest of Hualien

• It was about 35km (21 miles) deep, according to Associated Press

• Japan has put the earthquake at 7.7 magnitude

• Tsunami warnings and advisories had been issued – but the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that the threat from Taiwan’s earthquake “has now passed”.

The latest just coming in – Japan has lifted all tsunami advisories after the earthquake, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Earlier it was reported that Japan had downgraded its forecast and Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi had urged the residents in the Okinawa region to stay on safe ground until all tsunami advisories were lifted.

Let’s get the latest on what we know about the tsunami warnings and advisories – most of which appear to have passed.

Japan’s Meteorological Agency has downgraded its tsunami forecast from 3m (9.8 feet) to 1m (3.3 feet).

One island had a wave of about 30cm (a foot), while smaller waves were detected on other islands, according to Associated Press.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said there has been no report of injury or damage in Japan.

He urged the residents in the Okinawa region to stay on safe ground until all tsunami advisories were lifted.

China issued no warnings for the Chinese mainland, and there was no threat for hawaii and Guam.

More than two hours after the quake struck Taiwanthe pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the threat of a tsunami has largely passed.

We are getting our first casualty figures coming through. The Reuters news agency is reporting that one person has died and more than 50 people are injured after the earthquake – that’s according to the Taiwan fire department.

We’ll bring you more when we get it.

Another image coming through, this time of a landslide from Xiulinjust off the eastern coast of Taiwan:

Our Guardian reporter Chi Hui Lin has sent us more on the aftermath from people in Hualien. The epicenter has been reported as 25km southeast of the city.

A Hotel in Hualien City told me that people in Hualien know that sometimes there will be big earthquakes, so the items in the house are fixed.

They didn’t run out immediately when the earthquake happened but waited for it to get smaller before going out to avoid falling. There was little damage in her hotel, just a few items falling down.

Another Stand Up Paddling shop in Hualien told me that the people of Hualien have experienced many earthquakes, and when this earthquake happened, they knew it was a big one, so they rushed out.

He said that many buildings in Hualien are now evacuating their residents.

He was driving his car near the mountains when the earthquake happened, and there were a lot of falling rocks.

When he was talking to me, the sound of ambulances passing by was in the background.

The tsunami threat from the earthquake has now passed according to the Pacific tsunami warning center.

The center’s website has a post saying “No tsunami warning, advisory, watch or threat” on the Taiwan quake.

Some more of the latest images coming in from the earthquake to hit Taiwan:

Japan tsunami alert downgraded to advisory

Justin McCurry

The tsunami waves that had arrived by late morning were not as high as forecast, and the alert was downgraded to an advisory.

But an official from Japan’s meteorological agency urged people to continue evacuating until the advisory was lifted.

Public broadcaster NHK said some residents of the main Okinawa island had evacuated to a nearby US military base, while footage showed others watching the sea from the safety of high ground in the prefectural capital Naha.

Taiwan’s electricity operator – Taipower- has said more than 87,000 people across the country are now without power, according to the Reuters news agency.

Earlier we were hearing that 10,000 households were without power and it was reported that restoration operations were currently underway.

Buildings in Taipei have continued to shake after an aftershock, according to the Reuters news agency.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Meterological Agency is warning people to be vigilant for aftershocks of similar intensity for around a week.