In Taiwan, rescue operations are underway following a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that rocked the eastern coast of the island, leaving at least nine people dead and over 900 injured.

 

Along the craggy coastline, some 127 people are stuck in collapsed tunnels and on steep roadways.

Strong earthquakes were felt in Taipei, the nation’s capital, more than 100 kilometers away, even though the epicentre was located 18 kilometers (11 miles) south of Hualien city.

The most powerful earthquake to strike Taiwan in 25 years is this one.

 

Additionally, it caused tsunami warnings to be issued earlier in the day for adjacent Philippine and Japanese islands, but these were later cancelled. Buildings collapsed, roads were blocked, and rail lines were delayed in Hualien, causing the most damage and further isolating the isolated area from the rest of Taiwan.

“I was just getting out of bed when a low cabinet and a clothes rack fell over,” Hualien resident Ocean Tsai said to BBC Chinese. “As it continued to grow stronger, I began to worry about our household possessions. Fortunately, there was not much damage other than the motorcycle toppling over.”

However, amazing footage of landslides along the shore quickly took over social media. When they plummeted into the water, massive clouds erupted from the mountains as they fell.

Dozens of people have become stuck along this coastline because of its small, winding roadways and tunnels carved out of the rock. The path is well-liked by travelers because of its breathtaking vistas of the Pacific Ocean beyond the mountains. However, it is also renowned for being dangerous, in part due to the potential for landslides.

Rescue efforts to free the 77 persons stranded in the Hualien road’s Jinwen and Qingshui tunnels were going on late into the night. Images depict how the road outside the Qingshui tunnel has just collapsed.

It’s not known how long the people inside will be imprisoned, or if they will have access to food and water or a means of communication with the outside world.

Footage from Taipei, which is located further north, shows people being evacuated from their houses and schools as well as residential buildings collapsing. Videos of wrecked cars and jumbled storefronts were shown on local TV networks. All throughout the island, reports of internet and power outages were made.

The earthquake is shallow and near the coast. It is felt in Taiwan and on offshore islands. According to Wu Chien Fu, the head of Taipei’s Seismology Center, “it’s the strongest in 25 years.”

Hualien is located in the mostly hilly eastern region of Taiwan, which is home to 23 million people. There are native tribes living in this thinly populated area. The region’s steep mountains have kept it totally isolated from the rest of Taiwan for the most of its history.

Although the government has constructed tunnels and roadways out of the rockface since the 1930s, the location is still thought to be difficult to access, which will make rescue efforts more challenging.

These breathtaking roads lead both residents and visitors to the Taroko National Park, which is named after a famous gorge located outside of Hualien and is regarded as one of Asia’s natural wonders. A prominent hotel’s staff was being transferred to it in advance of a four-day holiday weekend, and three of the dead were hikers on the nearby trail. There are currently fifty people trapped.

At least nine aftershocks of a magnitude of four or greater were caused by the Wednesday earthquake, which struck at 07:58 local time (23:58 GMT) at a depth of 15.5 kilometers.

“The government must ensure the accuracy of information and provide timely assistance to people in need, so that people can feel at ease and safe,” the president stated.

In a statement on X, Taiwan’s foreign office thanked “allies and friends” like Japan and Paraguay for their offers of assistance.

While thanking China for its concern, Taiwan’s official contact with China, the Mainland Affairs Council, stated that no request for assistance would come from that side. The autonomous island, which considers itself to be separate from China, is claimed by Beijing as its own.

Although there has been seismic activity in Taiwan in the past, residents and visitors to Taipei who have lived there for a long time agree that this is the largest earthquake they have felt in many years.

The previous significant earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.6, occurred in September 1999 and left 5,000 buildings destroyed in addition to 2,400 fatalities.

 

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