Surprising reason people told to stay inside as major earthquake hit near Taiwan

Reports have emerged that a number of people were told to stay inside their hotel as a major earthquake brought widespread destruction to parts of Taiwan.

Parts of Taiwan are continuing to reel from the aftermath of a major 7.4 magnitude earthquake, which sparked tsunami warnings, not only for the Asian territory, but also for Japan and the Philippines.

Casualty reports are now emerging of one dead and 50 people injured, according to Reuters.

The earthquake hit just before 8am local time, with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) putting the epicentre 18 kilometres south of Taiwan’s Hualien City at a depth of 34.8 km.

The Japan Meteorological Agency had given a preliminary estimate of magnitude 7.5 for Wednesday morning’s earthquake, but later upgraded that to magnitude 7.7.

The earthquake and the aftershocks, which included a 6.5-magnitude earthquake near Hualien according to Taipei’s weather agency, have brought varying degrees of destruction across the region.

A reporter on the ground in the Taiwanese city of Hualien revealed why some people chose to stay inside shaking buildings when the earthquake hit.

“A hotel in Hualien City told me that people in Hualien know that sometimes there will be big earthquakes, so the items in the house are fixed,” The Guardian reporter, Chi Hui Lin, said.

“They didn’t run out immediately when the earthquake happened but waited for it to get smaller before going out to avoid falling. There was little damage in her hotel, just a few items falling down.”

A screenshot from footage showing an apparent landslide in Taiwan. Picture: Twitter

People looking at a damaged building in Hualien, after a major earthquake hit Taiwan's east. Picture: CNA / AFP

Other parts of the city weren’t so lucky, with footage emerging on social media showing half-fallen buildings with severe damage, while another video shows a bridge violently shaking.

Other videos show numerous, large landslides, with early reports of local media suggesting people may be trapped in the debris.

Officials said the earthquake was the strongest felt on the island in decades.

“The earthquake is close to land and it’s shallow. It’s felt all over Taiwan and offshore islands,” said Wu Chien-fu, director of Taipei’s Central Weather Administration’s Seismology Center.

“It’s the strongest in 25 years since the (1999) earthquake,” he told reporters.

A 7.6-magnitude quake hit Taiwan in September 1999, killing around 2400 people in the deadliest natural disaster in the island’s history.

Wu warned that authorities are not ruling out that “there will be earthquakes with magnitude of 6.5 to 7 in three days which will be relatively close to the land”.

“The public should pay attention to relevant warnings and messages and be prepared for earthquake evacuation.”

Rockfall from a mountain near Kanan bridge in Hualien county. Picture: UGC/AFP

Tsunami threat has ‘largely passed’

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has said the tsunami threat has “now passed” for the region.

Earlier, tsunami waves as high as three metres were expected for remote Japanese islands in the region, including Miyakojima island.

“Tsunami is coming. Please evacuate immediately,” said an anchor on Japanese national broadcaster, NHK.

“Do not stop. Do not go back.”

Footage and photos were emerging on social media of people being evacuated to the upper floors of hotels and shopping centres in the wake of the warning.

Social media user, Tomohiro Yuasa, who was at a hotel in Nago, Okinawa, shared updates to X, including footage of water appearing to recede along the coast.

台湾、沖縄地震発生(8:58)から約2時間が経ちました。
現在警戒レベルが注意報に引き下げましたが、引き続き波が引いている状況です。

地震発生時は沖縄の名護周辺ではほぼ揺れは感じなかったです。 pic.twitter.com/Nklbl8UJNk

— Tomohiro Yuasa🔥🔥🔥 (@bakusokukun) April 3, 2024

“The evacuation level of the hotel has been raised from the 2nd floor to the 4th floor or above,” he wrote at the time.

Warning could also be heard throughout the area.

Flights were suspended at Okinawa’s main airport and told to divert as a precautionary measure.

In Taiwan, authorities issued a tsunami warning via text message “to remind people in coastal areas to be vigilant and take strict precautions and pay attention to the dangers caused by sudden surges in waves”.

To Taiwan’s west, the Philippines also issued a tsunami warning and called for the evacuation of coastal areas.

“The people in the coastal areas of the following provinces are strongly advised to immediately evacuate to higher grounds or move farther inland,” the state seismology institute said in an advisory.

People evacuate to the upper floors of a department store in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture on April 3, 2024. Picture: Jun Yokoyama / The Yomiuri Shimbun via AFP

Coastal areas in the northern provinces of Batanes, Cagayan, Illocos Norte and Isabela “are expected to experience high tsunami waves” based on tsunami wave models, the state seismological agency said.

Residents have been warned the waves could “continue for hours”.

“Owners of boats in harbours, estuaries or shallow coastal water of the above-mentioned provinces should secure their boats and move away from the waterfront,” it said.

“Boats already at sea during this period should stay offshore in deep waters until further advised.”