Nine dead, 56 trapped after Taiwan hit by the strongest earthquake in 25 years

The 7.4 magnitude quake killed at least nine people, injured more than 800, and has trapped another 56 inside tunnels and under collapsed buildings, as rescue operations continue.

Emergency workers assisting a survivor after he was rescued from a damaged building in New Taipei City on Wednesday. Picture: AFP

The biggest earthquake in 25 years hit Taiwan on Wednesday, killing at least nine people, injuring more than 800, and trapping dozens inside tunnels and under collapsed buildings on the island’s east coast.

A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck just off the coast of Hualien, a city in Taiwan’s east, shortly before 8am (11am AEDT). It sparked tsunami warnings in Japan and the Philippines, shutdown Taiwan’s globally important semiconductor industry and was felt in mainland China.

By Wednesday evening, 821 people were reported as injured across Taiwan. Fire authorities said about 56 people were still trapped in tunnels in Hualien County.

“At present the most important thing, the top priority, is to rescue people,” said President-elect Lai Ching-te, speaking outside one of the collapsed buildings in Hualien.

Emergency workers attend a man who had been trapped in a damaged building, in New Taipei City. Picture: CNA via AFP

Dozens of buildings in Taiwan collapsed, mostly in the sparsely populated east coast.

“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.

Wu warned that authorities were not ruling out that there would be more earthquakes near Taiwan “with magnitude of 6.5 to 7” in the coming three days.

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

Tremors are common in Taiwan, which sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a tectonic fault line where earthquakes are common.

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

In 2016, a 6.4-magnitude quake killed 114 people, after striking southwest Taiwan.

Warnings about tsunami waves were issued by Japan’s Meteorological Agency on Wednesday morning, but were downgraded hours later.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake had a magnitude of 7.4, with its epicentre 18 kilometres south of Taiwan’s Hualien City at a depth of 34.8 km. Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration measured the quake at a magnitude of 7.2.

A damaged building in Hualien, near the epicentre of the quake. Picture: AFP

Taiwan’s building code was overhauled after a similarly sized earthquake in 1999, which killed thousands.

Long-time residents in Taipei told The Australian that Wednesday’s earthquake was the strongest they had felt since that catastrophe.

“That was a big one,” said one Taipei resident, as he cleaned up the broken pot plants in his apartment. “But at least we are safe.”

Most of the damage was in Hualien. Picture: CNA via AFP

The aftershocks have included a 6.5-magnitude earthquake near Hualien, according to Taipei’s weather agency, which struck 13 minutes after the first. There were more than 50 aftershocks on Wednesday.

In the capital, the metro briefly stopped running and elevators in many buildings stopped working.

Staff at Taiwan’s globally important semiconductor business Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comapany were evacuated from some of its plants.

The company said it had suspended work at some of its sites for the day, pending further inspections.

That was scary in our Taipei apartment — paintings and glassware smashed and our baby’s room a mess.

Looks like it was much worse in Hualien.

And the aftershocks keep coming.

Dreading there might be some grim news in Taiwan today. https://t.co/u42JmyJx61pic.twitter.com/5OQil8GP55

— Will Glasgow (@wmdglasgow) April 3, 2024

A firefighter involved in a rescue of people from a building in Hualien told Taiwan’s Central News Agency that the structure had tilted more than 60 degrees in earthquake.

“Rescuers were unable to stand on their own and had to rely on some supports to make sure they were safe before they pulled the trapped residents out,” Su Chin-hui said.

With AFP