An earthquake of 7.5 points on the Richter scale shakes Taipeithe capital of Taiwan. The city was without power supply in several parts at different points and the alarms are already going off tsunami in the southern islands of Japan and the Philippines. According to local specialists, it is the earthquake strongest in the last 25 years.
Taiwan television stations showed images of some collapsed buildings in Hualien, near the epicenter of the earthquake, and media reported that some people were trapped.
According to a Reuters witness, The earthquake could be felt as far as Shanghai.
The epicenter of the earthquake was in front of the Hualien coastin waters off the eastern coast of the island of Taiwan, local meteorological authorities reported.
Earthquake in Taiwan: damage and affected areas
The earthquake was felt in Fuzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou and Ningde in the Chinese province of Fujian, according to national media.
“The earthquake was close to the ground and is shallow. It was felt throughout Taiwan and the islands. It is the strongest in 25 years,” Wu Chien-fu, told reporters. director of the Taiwanese Seismological Center, in reference to the 7.6 magnitude earthquake in September 1999 that left 2,400 dead.
Tsunami alarms go off in Japan and the Philippines
For its part, Japan issued a evacuation notice for coastal areas of southern Okinawa prefecture. Tsunami waves of up to 3 meters are expected to reach large areas of the southwestern coast of Japanaccording to the Japan Meteorological Agency, which estimated the earthquake’s magnitude at 7.5.
“Evacuate!” said a banner on Japanese national television NHK. “A tsunami is coming, please evacuate immediately,” said a presenter from that Japanese network. “Don’t stop, don’t turn back,” he advised.
The Philippine Seismological Agency also warned residents of several coastal areas, urging them to evacuate to higher ground.
Source: Ambito
