Taiwan 7.2 earthquake updates: At least nine dead, hundreds injured
Buildings collapse in Hualien, as multiple aftershocks reported in Taipei.
This live page is now closed.
This live page is now closed.
- An earthquake measuring 7.2 magnitude hit off Taiwan’s eastern coast at 7:58am (23:58 GMT) and was felt in the capital Taipei as well as in southern Japan, eastern China and the Philippines.
- At least nine people have been confirmed dead and more than 900 injured with the worst damage reported in the eastern city of Hualien and the mountainous countryside surrounding it. Dozens of people are trapped.
- The earthquake was the strongest to hit Taiwan in 25 years.
- Authorities in Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines issued tsunami warnings, which were later lifted.
Here’s a quick recap
We’ll be closing this live page soon, so let’s remind you of what happened today:
- A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck at almost 8am off Taiwan’s eastern coast at a depth of 15.5km (9.6 miles).
- The epicentre was about 25km (15.5 miles) southeast of Hualien.
- The quake, the strongest to hit Taiwan in 25 years, was followed by several strong aftershocks, including one of magnitude 6.5.
- Several buildings in Hualien were severely damaged.
- At least nine people have been confirmed dead and more than 900 injured.
- Rescue efforts are under way to save more than 100 people trapped in tunnels or buildings, all in the area around the city of Hualien.
Taiwan, an island living with quakes
About 2,000 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4 or greater have hit Taiwan and its surrounding waters since 1980, according to the United States Geological Survey.
More than 100 of those measured a magnitude above 5.5.
“This high level of seismic activity will unfortunately continue for millions of years to come,” said Stephen Gao, the seismologist.
“This underscores the importance of preparedness and resilience in the face of ongoing seismic risks,” he told AP.
How do earthquakes happen?
How well-equipped is Taiwan to deal with earthquakes?
The quake measuring magnitude 7.2 has damaged several buildings in Hualien but caused only minor damage in Taipei despite being strongly felt there.
It struck in the middle of the morning rush hour yet only slightly derailed the regular commute. Shortly afterwards, parents were again seen walking their children to school and workers driving to offices.
“Taiwan’s earthquake preparedness is among the most advanced in the world,” Stephen Gao, a seismologist and professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology, told AP. “The island has implemented strict building codes, a world-class seismological network and widespread public education campaigns on earthquake safety.”
The government continually revises the level of quake resistance required of new and existing buildings and offers subsidies to residents willing to check the quake resistance of their buildings.
After a 2016 earthquake in Tainan on the island’s southwestern coast, five people involved in the construction of a 17-storey apartment building that was the only major structure to collapse, killing dozens of people, were found guilty of negligence and given prison sentences.
Taiwan also is pushing quake drills at schools and workplaces while public media and cellphones regularly carry notices about quake safety.
“These measures have significantly enhanced Taiwan’s resilience to earthquakes, helping to mitigate the potential for catastrophic damage and loss of life,” Gao said.
What to know about deadly quake
Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Explainers have put together a piece containing all you should know about the earthquake that has rocked Taiwan.
Read it here.
Who are some of the victims?
Of the nine people confirmed dead so far, three were hikers who were killed in rockslides in Taroko National Park, which is in Hualien county.
Authorities said the three, who were part of a group of seven on an early-morning hike through the hills that surround the city, were crushed to death by boulders loosened by the earthquake, officials said.
Separately, the drivers of a truck and a car died when their vehicles were hit by tumbling boulders, while another man died at a mine.
No stranger to powerful quakes
Taiwan is located along the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, the horseshoe-shaped line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes occur.
The area is particularly vulnerable to temblors due to the tension accumulated from the interactions of two tectonic plates, the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate, which may lead to sudden releases in the form of earthquakes.
The region’s mountainous landscape can magnify the ground shaking, leading to landslides.
Several such landslides occurred on Taiwan’s eastern coast near the epicentre of today’s quake close to Hualien County, when falling debris hit tunnels and highways, crushing vehicles and causing several deaths.
How are earthquakes measured?
Trapped Germans rescued
The two Germans who had been trapped in a tunnel have been rescued, the German dpa news agency is quoting the fire brigade authorities as saying.
Photos: Some of the destruction left behind by the quake
Latest earthquake figures
- At least nine people are confirmed dead.
- Another 882 have been injured.
- More than 70 people remain trapped but are believed to be alive, including some in a coal mine.
- Fifty people on minibuses are missing after phone networks went down.
‘Our hearts with people of Taiwan’: Philippine president
Ferdinand Marcos Jr has expressed his country’s support to the people of Taiwan following the quake.
In a post on X, the Philippine president also said his government was “diligently ensuring” the safety of the nearly 160,000 Filipinos residing in Taiwan.
“We stand ready to assist and support our fellow Filipinos in Taiwan in any way possible during this difficult period,” he said.
Our hearts are with the people of Taiwan as they endure the aftermath of today's powerful earthquake.
Rest assured, our Department of Migrant Workers is diligently ensuring the safety of the 159,480 Filipinos currently residing in Taiwan.
We stand ready to assist and support…
— Bongbong Marcos (@bongbongmarcos) April 3, 2024
Fifty people on minibuses heading to national park missing
Authorities say they have lost contact with 50 people travelling on four minibuses heading to a hotel in Taroko National Park, 25km (15 miles) north of Hualien, after the quake downed phone lines.
Rescuers, meanwhile, were slowly evacuating people trapped in tunnels near the city, including two German nationals.
“At present, the most important thing, the top priority, is to rescue people,” President-elect Lai Ching-te said, speaking outside one of the collapsed buildings in Hualien.
Number of people killed rises to nine
The death toll has risen to at least nine people with 882 wounded, according to authorities.
Rescue operations are continuing.
What happened in 1999?
Today’s earthquake was the strongest in 25 years – but what happened a quarter of a century ago?
On September 21, 1999, Taiwan was devastated by an earthquake of magnitude 7.7, which struck at 1:47am.
About 2,400 people were killed and 10,000 injured. More than 100,000 people were left without a home as thousands of buildings collapsed while many roads and bridges were also damaged.
Foxconn says no damage to manufacturing gear
We also have an update from Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker and Apple’s largest biggest iPhone assembler.
The company said it closed some of its production lines for inspection after the quake but added that normal production operations had since gradually resumed, according to Reuters.
The earthquake caused no damage to manufacturing equipment, it added, while the operational and financial impact to the company was described as very slight.
TSMC shares down
We reported earlier that Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC said staff at its factories in Hsinchu, southwest of Taipei, have returned to work after some production line employees were evacuated according to procedure.
The company’s Taipei-listed shares closed trading down 1.3 percent following this morning’s earthquake.
TSMC supplies semiconductors to companies such as Apple and Nvidia.
‘It felt as if the house was going to topple’
In Hualien city, a woman running bed and breakfast accommodation said that fear spread as the quake hit.
“This is the biggest earthquake I have ever experienced,” the woman, who asked to be identified by her family name, Chan, told Reuters.
Meanwhile, Chang Yu-lin, a 60-year-old worker in a hospital in Taipei, described the shaking as “very strong”.
“It felt as if the house was going to topple,” Chang said.
WATCH: Deadly quake topples buildings
Buildings have been toppled in Taiwan after it was hit by its most powerful earthquake in a quarter of a century.
Watch the dramatic footage in our video report below:
‘Close to land and shallow’
As we reported earlier, there have been dozens of aftershocks since the early-morning earthquake.
Taiwanese officials have also warned that there will be more seismic activity in the days ahead.
“The earthquake is close to land and it’s shallow. It’s felt all over Taiwan and offshore islands,” said Wu Chien-fu, director of Taipei’s Central Weather Administration’s Seismological Center.
Taiwan president thanks first responders
Tsai Ing-wen says disaster response is under way following the earthquake and aftershocks.
“I’m deeply grateful for the messages of support we have received from around the world, and to our first responders for their life-saving work,” the Taiwanese president wrote on X.
“My heart is with everyone affected. Please keep in touch with loved ones, and stay safe,” Tsai said.
Disaster response is underway following this morning’s 7.2 earthquake and aftershocks. I’m deeply grateful for the messages of support we have received from around the world, and to our first responders for their life-saving work.
My heart is with everyone affected. Please keep…
— 蔡英文 Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) April 3, 2024
‘The doctors’ desks had moved in all directions’
Anggi Sofiasyah Lacuba, an Indonesian woman caring for a grandmother in Taiwan’s Hualien, was not feeling well and had gone to visit the doctor in the county’s Ji’an township when the quake struck.
She found herself in the bathroom “in a really weak state” when the earthquake struck.
“The earthquake was really powerful. Because I was already sick, I just stayed there. Until the earthquake subsided,” she told Al Jazeera.
“When I went outside, things were falling, the doctors’ desks had moved [in all] directions, and the water dispenser had fallen. Everything had fallen. The doctors [and] nurses were all outside.”
They had all called for Anggi to get out of the building as they evacuated, but she hadn’t felt well enough to follow their advicce.
About an hour after the quake, Anggi posted a WhatsApp story. “It turns out that surrendering to life and death is peaceful,” she wrote.
Taiwan earthquake: Fast facts
- The magnitude 7.2 quake struck just offshore at about 8am local time (00:00 GMT)
- The epicentre was near the eastern county of Hualien
- At least seven people have been killed
- More than 700 were injured
- At least 77 are trapped, mostly in tunnels and collapsed buildings.