At least seven people have died and more than 700 have been injured after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan, the strongest earthquake in that area of Asia in the last 25 years – the previous one left 2,400 dead. Now the fear is the possible aftershocks that occur after the tremor. Initially, a tsunami alert, which has already been withdrawn.
The epicenter of the earthquake occurred early in the morning, at 7:58 on Wednesday (23:58 GMT on Tuesday), 25 kilometers southeast of Hualien county, with a depth of 15.5 kilometers. The earthquake has caused significant damage to the eastern coast of the island. What's more, it has also been felt on the Japanese islands of Okinawa.
The number of injured now reaches 736 people, while another 77 remain trapped.
The first earthquake has been followed by more than a dozen aftershocks in Hualian county, one of them 6.5 degreesaccording to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan has declared a level two disaster response center in the city. “The city's disaster response center has been raised to level two, public works, industrial and fire stations have deployed personnel, and emergency response teams have been established within each unit, and immediately investigation, reporting and relief work have begun.
This earthquake is the strongest recorded in Taiwan for 25 years. The previous one was recorded in September 1999, it was 7.3 degrees and left more than 2,400 dead and 11,000 injured.
Victims and injured
The number of fatalities increases after the earthquake in Taiwan. The earthquake also left seven injured in New Taipei, two in Yilan and one in several cities such as Keelung, Taipei, Taoyuan and Taichung, according to the Emergency Response Center.
Seven people died in a tunnel in a hiking area known as Dekalun Train. In the Chongde tunnel, in the Taroko National Park, a group of people were trapped and they were also trapped in the Jinwen tunnel, on the highway that connects the cities of Suao and Hualien.
Besides, several buildings have collapsed. The properties have seen their infrastructure damaged.
The number of incidents related to the disaster has risen to 933, with 624 cases classified as “other types of events”, followed by 150 civil infrastructure incidents and 97 building damage incidents.
They begin rescue tasks. There are power outages in thousands of homes and people trapped in the rubble of buildings.
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