A 7.4-magnitude earthquake has struck Taiwan, but the death toll is low

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Taiwan's east coast Wednesday morning, killing nine people and leaving at least 143 trapped under rubble and debris, as the quake sparked tsunami warnings as far away as Japan and the Philippines.

Authorities said more than 70 quarry workers remained trapped overnight.

The quake, the strongest to hit Taiwan in 25 years, struck southern Hualien County – a scenic and sparsely populated coastal area – shortly before 8am. The earthquake, which the US Geological Survey said had a magnitude of 7.4, was felt by residents of Shanghai and China. Southeastern provinces. The Taiwan Central Meteorological Administration recorded the earthquake's magnitude as 7.2.

Live footage and security cameras captured the moment a deadly 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck off the east coast of Taiwan on April 3. (Video: Reuters)

Taiwan is located on the “Ring of Fire”, an area in the Pacific Ocean that is considered the most seismically active area in the world. The earthquake was felt all over the island, up to 200 miles from the epicenter. In Taipei, tremors that lasted for more than a minute led terrified residents to leave their homes. Students were evacuated from schools and sat in rows along sidewalks and playgrounds. More than 900 people were injured, most by falling objects, according to Taiwan's National Fire Agency.

Previous most deadly earthquakes

Hitting more densely populated areas

Deaths in previous earthquakes

Sources: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Samuel Granados and Julia Ledor/The Washington Post

Previous most deadly earthquakes

Hitting more densely populated areas

Deaths in previous earthquakes

Sources: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Samuel Granados and Julia Ledor/The Washington Post

Previous, more deadly earthquakes had struck more

Highly populated areas

Deaths in previous earthquakes

Sources: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Samuel Granados and Julia Ledor/The Washington Post

Officials said the quake was the strongest to hit the island since 1999, when a 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck central Taiwan, killing more than 2,400 people. After that earthquake, which was one of the worst in the island's modern history, authorities imposed stricter building codes.

These efforts could explain Wednesday's relatively low death toll. Lu Chenwen, an architect who helped with reconstruction after the 1999 earthquake, said structures built according to the new regulations were stronger and that may have helped. “If the buildings were damaged but not destroyed, the casualties would be relatively less,” he said.

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake rocked Taiwan's eastern coast on April 3, injuring hundreds of people, collapsing buildings and landslides. (Video: Naomi Chanin, Julie Yoon/The Washington Post)

In recent years, city governments have launched campaigns to upgrade old buildings to make them more earthquake-resistant. Since 2019, the government has reviewed 36,000 buildings across the country built before 1999 and provided support to modernize them.

Even in Hualien, one of the most earthquake-prone areas in Taiwan, residents were shocked by the strength of the tremor. Users on social media posted photos of partially collapsed buildings leaning dangerously as rescue workers raced to reach people inside. Local media reports also showed residents fleeing their homes through windows.

Shi Yirong, 34, quickly left her apartment in a 16-storey building in Hualien City when she smelled a gas leak after the earthquake. She spent the day at a breakfast café with other terrified residents and planned to spend the evening at a friend's house, where she could easily evacuate if necessary. “I'm not coming home today,” she said.

Another resident, Liang Kaixiong, who runs a bed and breakfast, fled his building when the quake struck. “I was panicking. There hasn't been one this big in a long time,” he said.

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan's east coast on April 3, causing a building to tilt to one side. (Video: AP)

Lin Yue Deer, 36, a former political campaign worker in Hualien, said his first instinct when the tremors started was to evacuate all the elderly family members from their home.

“Hualian is a place where earthquakes are common, but this earthquake immediately struck me as unusual because it was long and shaking vertically, up and down,” he said.

In less than five hours after the earthquake, Taiwan recorded 76 aftershocks, some of which reached a magnitude of 6.4. More than 300,000 families were cut off from electricity, and passengers were stranded, as the island's metro lines and high-speed rail system suspended operations. Wu Xinfu, director of the Earthquake Center of the Central Weather Administration, said aftershocks measuring 6.5 to 7 magnitude are possible over the next three or four days.

At least 24 landslides were recorded across the island, bringing traffic to a standstill on the east coast where three highways were blocked and at least one bridge collapsed. Taiwan's military has been deployed to work with local governments in rescue efforts, while President Tsai Ing-wen advised residents not to use elevators and “pay more attention” to their safety.

In Yonaguni, one of the Japanese islands of Okinawa, an 11-inch tsunami struck 20 minutes after the initial quake, prompting Japanese authorities to advise residents to evacuate to higher ground. The Japan Meteorological Agency later downgraded the tsunami warning level for Okinawa to a tsunami warning, indicating that the expected tsunami waves would not be as high as originally estimated.

On April 3, people were evacuated to higher ground after a tsunami warning in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. (Video: AP)

Officials in the Philippines also initially warned residents in coastal areas against moving to higher ground. About three hours after the quake, Taiwanese officials lowered their tsunami warning level, and the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the threat had “largely passed.”

Taiwan, with a population of more than 23 million, is a major manufacturing center for many of the world's advanced computer chips. A spokesman for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, said some factories had been evacuated and some operations had been suspended. TSMC said production is scheduled to resume soon, and none of the company's advanced “lithography” machines, which can cost hundreds of millions of dollars and are among the most complex pieces of equipment in the world, were damaged.

All nine victims on Wednesday were in Hualien, a popular tourist destination, and were caused by falling rocks. They included three hikers and a worker at Taroko Gorge National Park; Two drivers whose car was destroyed by falling rocks; And one person at the mining site.

The earthquake comes before a four-day public holiday known as Tomb Sweeping Day, when residents travel home to honor their deceased relatives and care for their graves. Taiwanese Transport Minister Wang Kuo-tsai said that the authorities will use boats to transport people to and from the city of Hualien for the holiday due to road closures.

Inuma reported from Tokyo. Gerrit De Vinck in San Francisco contributed to this report.

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