Earthquake in Taiwan: “Everything was shaking very violently”

At least four people died and more than 700 were injured this Wednesday, after an earthquake measuring more than 7 on the Richter scale hit the coast of Taiwan. This was the strongest earthquake to hit the island in the last 25 years.

To journalists, the locals told the moment they felt the earthquake: “Everything was shaking very violently.”

According to the France-Presse agency, the magnitude of the earthquake was estimated at 7.5 by the Japan meteorological agency, 7.4 by the United States Geological Survey and 7.2 by the Taiwan meteorological agency.

The first tremor was followed by an aftershock measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The earthquake caused considerable material damage, especially in Hualien, a city with around 100,000 inhabitants, where several residential buildings partially collapsed, leaving people trapped inside.