Elizabeth O.
The quake struck near the popular tourist city of Hualien on the country’s eastern coast, leading to the collapse of buildings, power outages, landslides, and initial tsunami warnings in southern Japan and the Philippines.
Following the earthquake, social media platforms were inundated with videos showing heroic efforts to rescue children from collapsed residential structures.
In Hualien, a five-storey building suffered severe damage, with its first floor completely collapsed and the remaining structure leaning at a precarious 45-degree angle.
The Dachingshui tunnel became a site where individuals and vehicles were trapped, as reported by Taiwan’s Centre for Science and Technology (CST).
The cataclysmic event also caused significant damage to train lines, resulting in the closure of schools and workplaces across large areas of the affected city.
Eyewitnesses in Hualien described the terrifying experience of driving while rocks cascaded down from nearby mountains, while others sought refuge outside after experiencing the powerful tremors.
EXTENT OF DAMAGE BY THE EARTHQUAKE
In addition to the destruction in Hualien, part of Guishan Island, a popular tourist attraction known as Turtle Island, slid into the sea. In Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, several individuals were successfully rescued from a partially collapsed warehouse, while tiles fell from various buildings.
Although Japan’s meteorological agency reported a magnitude of 7.7 for the earthquake, Taiwan’s own monitoring agency recorded it as 7.2. Regardless, this event marks Taiwan’s most potent earthquake since 1999 when a 7.6-magnitude quake struck 93 miles (150 km) south of Taipei, claiming 2,400 lives and injuring 10,000.
Hualien experienced a significant earthquake just two years ago in 2022, resulting in the toppling of buildings, a derailed train, one fatality, and power outages affecting thousands of residents.
The impact of Wednesday’s earthquake prompted Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), a leading global producer of advanced semiconductors, to evacuate its production lines.
Taiwan’s CST reported more than 15 aftershocks exceeding a magnitude of 4.0, although their intensity has been gradually decreasing.
In central Taipei, visible damage was observed on some buildings, such as the Howard Plaza hotel, where brickwork was compromised, and parts of the hotel’s signage became dislodged.
Mike Hung Hsu, a hotel guest from the United States, expressed his shock at the earthquake, noting that he had never experienced such a powerful tremor even in earthquake-prone Los Angeles. He also mentioned his previous time living in Taiwan and how this earthquake surpassed any he had encountered before.
Initially, Japanese media warned of possible three-meter-high tsunami waves in certain areas of Okinawa prefecture, located approximately 1,600 km south of Tokyo. However, these forecasts were later revised, and Japan’s meteorological agency lifted all tsunami advisories, with no reports of injury or damage.
Buildings in New Taipei City’s Xindian district also suffered damage due to the cataclysmic impact.
Nevertheless, officials from Japan’s meteorological agency urged residents to remain vigilant and continue evacuating until the advisory was completely lifted.
Reports indicated that some residents of the main Okinawa island sought refuge at a nearby U.S. military base, while others watched the sea from higher ground in the prefectural capital, Naha.
The agency cautioned that aftershocks similar in intensity to those experienced in Taiwan could occur over the next week.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake’s epicenter was located 18 km (11 miles) south of Hualien city, with a depth of 34.8 km.
The Philippines’ seismology agency initially issued a tsunami warning for coastal areas facing the Pacific Ocean. However, the warning was later lifted, alleviating immediate concerns.
It has been a mere three months since a magnitude-7.6 earthquake and subsequent tsunami caused significant devastation and claimed 244 lives on Japan’s Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture along the Japan Sea coast.
Japan’s most severe recorded earthquake occurred in March 2011, measuring a massive 9.0 on the Richter scale. The undersea jolt triggered a devastating tsunami, resulting in the loss of approximately 18,500 lives and leaving many others missing.
