UPDATE: 5:10pm
The whole of Taiwan was jolted by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck just off the coast of Hualien County at 7:58am on Wednesday, the largest quake to hit the nation in 25 years.
As of 4:30pm, the death toll had reached nine. A total of 821 people were injured, and 127 were still trapped or stranded.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
According to the Central Weather Administration (CWA), the epicenter was 25km south-southeast of Hualien County Hall at a depth of 15.5km.
The highest intensity of 6 was felt in Hualien, while Yilan and Miaoli counties registered over 5.
Intensities of just under 5 were felt in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taichung and Taoyuan, as well as Nantou, Hsinchu and Changhua counties.
Photo courtesy of a reader
Most of the rest of the country experienced intensities of 4, even as far south as Pingtung County.
Four people reportedly died after being struck by falling rocks in Taroko National Park, three of the whom were hiking the Dekalun Trail (得卡倫步道).
One other hiker along the Xiaozhuilu Trail (小錐麓步道) was missing.
Photo: Hua Meng-ching, Taipei Times
The fourth was accompanying her husband doing roadwork along Provisional Highway No. 8 when rocks fell on her.
Nearby, a truck driver was reportedly killed by a fallen boulder along the Suhua Highway, while another motorist was also hit by falling debris in the Daqingshui Tunnel (大清水隧道).
The seventh casualty was a person working in the Taiwan Cement (台泥) Heren (和仁) mining area who was hit by falling rocks.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The Hualien County Government announced that school and classes would be suspended on Wednesday following the quake.
Several buildings in Hualien City were tilting at severe angles after the quake, one of which is a large building at the intersection of Zhongshan and Chongqing roads.
Emergency responders had rescued everyone from the building by the late afternoon, but the last person they removed was not showing vital signs.
As of 3:30pm, the Central Emergency Operation Center had reported 28 collapsed buildings: 17 in Hualien, one in Yilan County, two in Keelung and eight in New Taipei City.
AFTERSHOCKS
The CWA warned of the possibility of aftershocks measuring magnitude 6.5 to 7 over the next three to four days.
There were 123 aftershocks recorded as of 4:30pm, nine of which measured between magnitudes 5 and 6, while two exceeded magnitude 6 at 8:11am and 10:14am, CWA data showed.
This morning’s earthquake was felt across Taiwan, as it was both shallow and close to land, CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) said.
Initial observations suggest that it was the main quake, although strong aftershocks are possible, Wu said.
This is the strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan since the magnitude 7.3 quake on Sept. 21, 1999, he said, adding that the intensity readings might be adjusted, but it initially appears to be a similar magnitude.
TRANSPORTATION
MRT services in Taipei were suspended for 40 to 60 minutes for routine safety checks, although there were no initial reports of irregularities.
Services on all lines had resumed by 10am.
In New Taipei City, the Department of Rapid Transit Systems said that the Circular Line (Yellow Line) would take a while to repair after the tracks between Zhongyuan and Banxin stations shifted in the quake.
Trains on the line would not restart before the end of the day, so extra bus services would be added, the department said.
The Taichung MRT and high-speed rail also suspended services temporarily along the entire line.
On the Taiwan Railway, the stretch from Yilan County’s Jiaosi Township (礁溪) to Fonglin Township (鳳林) in Hualien County is closed due to damage.
The eastern branch of the Highway Bureau said that parts of the Suhua Highway from Yilan’s Suao Township (蘇澳) to Hualien’s Chongde (崇德) area were closed, as well as the Central Cross-Island Highway from Dayuling Pass (大禹嶺) to Taroko.
A tsunami warning has been issued in Japan’s Okinawa and several provinces in the Philippines.
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