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Tainan in southern Taiwan hit by magnitude 6.4 earthquake Tainan in southern Taiwan hit by magnitude 6.4 earthquake
(about 1 hour later)
A powerful earthquake has struck southern Taiwan near the city of Tainan, causing at least two buildings to collapse, although there were no immediate reports of deaths or serious injuries. A powerful earthquake has struck Taiwan near the southern city of Tainan, causing buildings to collapse and other structures to lean dangerously. But there were no immediate reports of deaths or serious casualties.
The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.4 quake, initially reported as a magnitude 6.7, was centred 27 miles (43 km) south-east of Tainan, a city of nearly 2 million people. The US Geological Survey recorded powerful tremors of 6.4 magnitude early on Saturday morning local time, following initial reports of a 6.7 magnitude earthquake.
The quake was very shallow, at a depth of 6.2 miles, which would have amplified its effects, the USGS said. The earthquake caused a 17-storey apartment building to collapse and crews had so far rescued 123 people from the wreckage, a fire brigade official said.
The Taiwanese news website ET Today reported that two buildings toppled in the southern city of Tainan and that some water and gas utility pipes had ruptured. Sirens were wailing as city authorities responded to the quake, the news website said. “There are 60 households in that building,” said Tainan city government fire service spokesman Lee Po Min, estimating that there might have been about 240 people living there.
Taiwan’s China Post newspaper said on its website: “Collapsed buildings reported in Tainan, with rescue workers arriving on scene. The city government there has set up a level one emergency response center. Onlookers are urged not to block access to emergency crews moving into the area.” Residents and media outlets in the area took to social media with cellphone video clips of the chaotic aftermath, as fire crews tried to rescue people from wrecked buildings amid the sound of screaming and emergency vehicle sirens wailing.
Tainan city’s fire department said earlier that it was on its way to the site of one building that had partially collapsed and Liu Shih-chung, an official with the Tainan city government, said the city had set up an emergency response centre. The China Post newspaper in Taiwan said on its website: “Collapsed buildings reported in Tainan, with rescue workers arriving on scene. The city government there has set up a level one emergency response centre. Onlookers are urged not to block access to emergency crews moving into the area.
No other details were immediately available but many people in Taiwan said the tremor was strong. “I hugged the wall and put my face to the wall,” Pao-feng Wu, a Tainan resident, told Reuters after the quake hit. Thirty people were reported to have been rescued from four buildings that had collapsed.
“Four buildings have collapsed in Tainan City area. Search and rescue is underway and no casualties have been reported at this moment,” Lin Kuang-cheng, a spokesman for the National Fire Agency said.
Residents and reporters also posted pictures of huge buildings listing at precarious angles over the street.
The city of Kaohsiung, further south, was also affected
The earthquake was a shallow one, occurring close to the land surface, which can be particularly destructive. But there has been no indication so far that it might result in a tsunami, or tidal wave, the authorities said.
Taiwanese television reported that there were hundreds of people in one of the buildings that collapsed in Tainan.
“I hugged the wall and put my face to the wall,” Tainan resident Pao-feng Wu told Reuters.
The earthquake struck a few minutes before 4am local time in Taiwan and tremors were felt right across the island and as far north as the capital, Taipei, 200 miles away.
In the immediate aftermath of the quake, flooding and power failures are affecting the south-western area worst hit and the authorities are scrambling to reach residents.
Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes.
A strong 6.3-magnitude quake which hit central Taiwan in June 2013 killed four people and caused widespread landslides.
A 7.6-magnitude quake struck the island in September 1999 and killed around 2,400 people.