Much of Taipei without power as 7.2-magnitude earthquake rocks Taiwan, topples buildings

Original article here.

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Taiwan and rocked the capital city of Taipei on Wednesday morning.

Much of the city is without power and areas as far away as Japan and the Philippines are under tsunami warnings, Reuters reported. The epicenter of the quake was just off the island’s coast, near the eastern city of Hualien.

“The earthquake is close to land and it’s shallow. It’s felt all over Taiwan and offshore islands… It’s the strongest in 25 years,” said Taipei Seismology Center Director Wu Chien Fu, according to the BBC. A 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit the island in 1999, resulting in 2,400 dead.

Video footage purportedly of the incident showed Taipei subway passengers struggling to remain afoot while the railcar appeared to shake.

❗💥🇹🇼 – Terrifying scene in the Taipei subway during the earthquake in Taiwan.

Attention! “Taipei MRT services and high-speed trains suspended for at least an hour”. pic.twitter.com/HVEHjNhJ1Q

— 🔥🗞The Informant (@theinformant_x) April 3, 2024

Other footage from the city of Hualien showed a number of collapsed buildings.

#WATCH | An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 hit Taipei, capital of #Taiwan

Visuals from Beibin Street, Hualien City, Hualien County, eastern Taiwan

(Source: Focus Taiwan) pic.twitter.com/xGfLfPLmce

— OTV (@otvnews) April 3, 2024

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.