TAIWAN: According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a 6.9-magnitude earthquake that struck southeastern Taiwan on Sunday may have caused dangerous tsunami waves to form along coasts up to 300 kilometres (186 miles) away.
Following the earthquake, Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning for Miyako island in the East China Sea. The earthquake, which had a depth of 10 kilometres and struck the Yujing district in rural Taiwan, was felt in Yujing.
Following the strong earthquake, photos from southern Taiwan showed destroyed buildings. It was first listed by the USGS at 7.2 before being downgraded to 6.9.
According to sources, three persons are buried beneath one building’s debris. A fourth individual was saved.
A nearby train derailed, causing about 20 people to be evacuated, but no one was hurt, according to the Taiwan Railway Administration.
Damages were also reportedly recorded at a nearby school, according to Kolas Yotaka, a former presidential spokesman who is vying for office in Hualien county.
The biggest contract chip manufacturer in the world, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) (2330. TW), claimed there was “no known substantial impact for now.”
Due to its location at the meeting point of two tectonic plates, Taiwan is vulnerable to earthquakes.
In 2016, a quake in southern Taiwan claimed the lives of over 100 people, but a 7.3 magnitude quake in 1999 claimed the lives of over 2,000 people.
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