Strongest earthquake in 25 years rattles Taiwan

Taiwan was hit by a 7.4 moment magnitude earthquake at 7:58 a.m. local time on the morning of Wednesday, April 3, 2024, which makes it the strongest the nation has experienced in the past 25 years.

Furthermore, the earthquake struck about 18 kilometers south-southwest of the city of Hualien, and at a depth of 34.8 km, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

As the event occurred just some hours ago, the complete aftermath of the earthquake is not yet clear. However, various news outlets report that, so far, at least seven people have been identified to have lost their lives, while 77 were trapped, and at least 736 were injured.

Moreover, most of the fatalities have reportedly been caused by falling rocks, while according to the fire authorities, roughly 60 of the 77 people trapped were in tunnels.

According to reports from outlets and the USGS, many landslides are believed to have been caused by the earthquake and its aftershocks, at least 50 of which have followed the main seismic event so far, with the strongest one measuring a moment magnitude of 6.4.

In addition to this, significant area is believed to have been affected by liquefaction, while various footage has emerged of buildings severely tilted, and reports have been made of buildings sinking due to their foundations plunging.

Initially, tsunami warnings were issued in Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines, with waves less than half a meter tall reaching their shores, and the warnings later being lifted.

Train services, including Taipei’s metro system, were disrupted and power outages took place after the earthquake. However, most of the disruptions have also been restored.

Finally, the previous strongest earthquake in Taiwan occurred in 1999, measuring a moment magnitude of 7.7, and caused 2,400 people to lose their lives, another 10,000 getting injured and some 50,000 structures getting destroyed.