UAn earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale struck the coast of Taiwan in the early hours of Wednesday, causing nine deaths and more than 800 injuries so far. This is the “strongest earthquake in 25 years” on the island.
There are still 50 people missing, who are believed to be on their way to a national park, according to Reuters.
The first indications were that four deaths occurred in the Hualien region, close to the epicenter of the earthquake in the east of the island of Taiwan.
Three of these four victims died on a hiking trail and the fourth in a road tunnel. Details about the circumstances surrounding the remaining three fatalities are not yet known.
At first, the authorities in Taiwan (Republic of China) reported that there were around 60 injured, but the provisional balance was updated, now standing at more than 800, without specifying the severity of the injuries.
According to the fire department, at least 77 people remain trapped in the wreckage of buildings that collapsed in the eastern county of Hualien, a city with around 100,000 inhabitants, according to Reuters.
The China Seismological Center indicated that the earthquake occurred at 9 am (1 am in Lisbon), with the epicenter located near Hualien, at a depth of 15.5 kilometers. It was later followed by an aftershock measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale.
Initially, tsunami warnings were issued in Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which have all since been withdrawn.
The earthquake caused considerable material damage, especially in Hualien, where at least two residential buildings partially collapsed.
Taiwanese authorities said 308,242 homes were left without electricity, although power has been restored to around 70% of homes.
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan declared the disaster response center level two in Taiwan’s capital and asked citizens to be careful and watch out for possible new aftershocks.
O earthquake was “the strongest in 25 years” on the island, said the director of the Taiwan Seismological Center, Wu Chien-fu. In September 1999, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake killed 2,400 people in Taiwan.
“It was very strong. It felt like the house was going to collapse,” said Chang Yu-lin, 60, who works at a Taipei hospital.
Taiwan is located on the so-called Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, a zone of intense seismic and volcanic activity that stretches from Japan to the Pacific across South Asia.
[Notícia atualizada às 10h23]
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