Strong earthquake hits southeastern Taiwan, 146 injured

By Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee

TAIPEI (Reuters) -A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit the sparsely populated southeastern a part of Taiwan on Sunday, the island’s climate bureau stated, derailing prepare carriages, inflicting a comfort retailer to break down and trapping a whole lot on mountain roads.

The climate bureau stated the epicentre was in Taitung county, and adopted a 6.4 magnitude temblor on Saturday night in the identical space, which brought about no casualties.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured Sunday’s quake at a magnitude 7.2 and at a depth of 10 km (six miles).

Taiwan’s hearth division stated one individual had died and 146 had been injured by the quake.

All 4 individuals had been rescued from a constructing that collapsed in Yuli, whereas three individuals whose autos fell off a broken bridge had been rescued and brought to hospital.

The Taiwan Railways Administration stated six carriages got here off the rails at Dongli station in jap Taiwan after a part of the platform cover collapsed, however the hearth division stated there have been no accidents.

Greater than 600 persons are trapped on the scenic Chike and Liushishi mountain areas by blocked roads, although there have been no accidents and rescuers had been working to reopen the roads, the division stated.

The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Heart issued a warning for Taiwan after the tremor however later lifted the alert. Japan’s climate company lifted a tsunami warning for a part of Okinawa prefecture.

The quake might be felt throughout Taiwan, the climate bureau stated. Buildings shook briefly within the capital Taipei, and aftershocks have continued to jolt the island.

Science parks within the southern cities of Tainan and Kaohsiung, residence to main semiconductor factories, stated there was no influence on operations.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, stated there was “no identified important influence for now”.

Taiwan lies close to the junction of two tectonic plates and is vulnerable to earthquakes.

Greater than 100 individuals had been killed in a quake in southern Taiwan in 2016, whereas a 7.3 magnitude quake killed greater than 2,000 individuals in 1999.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee; Extra reporting by Martin Quin Pollard, Sam Nussey and Anirudh Saligrama; Modifying by Christian Schmollinger and Stephen Coates)