Strong Quake Strikes Eastern Taiwan, Tsunami Threat Lifted

Taipei, Sept 18 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Sep, 2022 ) :A strong earthquake struck southeastern Taiwan, bringing at least one building down in a small town and tearing up roads as forecasters said the threat of a regional tsunami had passed.

The quake hit at 2:44 pm (0644 GMT) about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the city of Taitung at a depth of 10 kilometres, the United States Geological Survey said.

Its initial strength was given as magnitude 7.2 but USGS later downgraded it to a 6.9-magnitude quake. Taiwan's weather bureau recorded it as 6.8-magnitude.

Japan's Meteorological Agency and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued tsunami advisories shortly after the quake, but both later sent updated bulletins saying there was no longer a threat of high waves.

In the Taiwanese town of Yuli, a building that hosted a 7/11 convenience store on the ground floor collapsed.

Video footage posted by Taiwan's Central news Agency showed panicked residents running towards the building, which had caved in and sent up a thick cloud of dust.

Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said a train derailed in Dongli station in Hualien after it was hit by concrete from an overhead canopy that came loose during the quake.

Photographs released by CNA showed the train's six carriages leaning at an angle in the station.

TRA said the 20 onboard passengers were evacuated and no injuries were reported.

Shaking was also felt in the capital Taipei and the southwestern city of Kaohsiung, with residents posting videos of chandeliers and paintings swaying on social media.

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen urged people to be vigilant for further aftershocks in the coming hours.

"Water and electricity supplies in some areas are also affected by the earthquake," she wrote on Facebook. "The related disaster relief work is in full swing."