Status: 09/18/2022 11:09 am
A major earthquake has struck in eastern Taiwan. Houses and bridges were damaged and a train derailed. There were initially no reports of deaths, but Japan could now be threatened by a tsunami.
Taiwan has been shaken by a second strong earthquake within two days. According to authorities, the 6.8 magnitude quake struck 42 kilometers north of the city of Taitung. It took place at a depth of seven kilometers.
The tremors hit the sparsely populated southeastern part of the island, according to the Taiwan Meteorological Office. Homes and bridges near the epicenter were severely damaged. A landslide blocked a road. According to media reports, an initially unknown number of people were trapped in a collapsed three-story supermarket. Some responded to calls from emergency services.
Tremors to Shanghai
There was initially no information about other victims. Rail traffic has been temporarily suspended. A train derailed. Elevators in tall buildings were stopped.
As a journalist from the AFP news agency reported, tremors were also felt in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei. The China Earthquake Networks Center, the state-owned Chinese earthquake observation center, reported clearly noticeable tremors in the coastal areas of the People’s Republic from Guangdong to Shanghai.
Already yesterday there was an earthquake on the east coast of Taiwan in the same region. However, it was less strong with a magnitude of 6.6. Several aftershocks followed. Since the island state is located at the meeting point of two tectonic plates, it is particularly prone to earthquakes.