Disasters
Major earthquake off the coast of Taiwan
The last time Taiwan was hit was in September 1999 by a magnitude 7.3 quake. photo
© Chiang Ying-Ying/AP/dpa
Taiwan is located in an earthquake-prone area. Now the island was shaken again. The event brought back memories of a severe earthquake almost 25 years ago.
The East Asian island republic Taiwan has been shaken by a severe earthquake. According to the Taiwan Meteorological Agency, the quake on Wednesday morning had a magnitude of 7.2. The epicenter was southeast of the eastern Taiwan island of Hualien.
According to eyewitnesses, the quake was also clearly felt in the Taiwanese capital Taipei. In Japan, the tremor off Taiwan triggered a warning of a three-meter-high tsunami for nearby islands in the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa. Residents of the affected islands were called upon to seek safety.
The last time Taiwan was hit was in September 1999 by a magnitude 7.3 quake. At that time, more than 2,400 people died. Taiwan lies in an earthquake-prone zone on the boundary of the Eurasian plate and the Philippine Sea plate.