Key Points
- A major earthquake struck just off the eastern coastline of Taiwan on Wednesday morning.
- The quake left nine people dead and injured more than 1,000, while 52 people remain missing.
- It also knocked out power in several parts of Taiwan's capital and collapsed buildings in another city.
The number of people injured in a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in eastern Taiwan climbed past 1,000 on Thursday though the death toll remained steady at nine.
The quake, the strongest in 25 years, hit on Wednesday morning just as people were readying to go to work and school, with an epicentre just off the coast of the largely rural and sparsely populated eastern county of Hualien.
Taiwan's fire department said the number of injuries had reached 1,038, putting the total number of missing at 52. Around a dozen of the hotel workers on their way to a resort in Taroko National Park had been located, with 38 still listed as missing.
The fire department said its rescue work was focused on people trapped on the cross-island highway, which traverses the gorge connecting Hualien with Taiwan's west coast and is a popular tourist destination.
Authorities are using drones and helicopters to look for people in the gorge and will drop supplies to them when they are found.
Firefighters prepare to move victims' bodies outside a collapsed building during a rescue operation following an earthquake in Hualien City, eastern Taiwan. Source: AAP / ChiangYing-ying
On Thursday, a helicopter rescued six people who had been trapped in a mining area, the fire department said.
In Hualien, some buildings tilted at precarious angles in the mountainous, sparsely populated county, near the epicentre of the 7.2 magnitude quake, which struck just offshore and triggered massive landslides.
Linda Chen, 48, said her apartment in downtown Hualien city had been so badly damaged in an earlier earthquake in 2018 that they had to move house.
But her new apartment block was damaged too in the latest earthquake.
"We worry the house could collapse anytime. We thought we had already experienced it once in Hualien and it would not hit us again, because God has to be fair," she said.
"We are frightened. We are so nervous."
The quake hit at a depth of 15.5km just as people were headed for work and school.
Video showed rescuers using ladders to help trapped people out of windows.
Strong tremors in Taipei forced the subway system to close briefly, although most lines resumed service.
Source: SBS News
A woman who runs a bed-and-breakfast in Hualien City said she scrambled to calm her guests who were scared by the quake.
"This is the biggest earthquake I have ever experienced," said the woman, who asked to be identified only by her family name Chan.
The government put the number of injured at 946.
"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.
The rail link to the area was expected to re-open on Thursday, Lai, who is set to take office next month, told reporters.
A partially collapsed building in Hualien, eastern Taiwan, as seen in video footage run by TVBS. Source: AAP / AP
Chinese state media said the quake was felt in the southeastern province of Fujian while a Reuters witness said it was also felt in the commercial hub of Shanghai.
Aftershocks could still be felt in Taipei, with more than 50 recorded, weather officials said.
Members of a search and rescue team prepare to enter a leaning building after a strong earthquake shook the Hualien area of Taiwan on Wednesday. Source: Getty / Anadolu
The official Central News Agency said the quake was the biggest since one of magnitude 7.6 in 1999 that killed about 2,400 people and damaged or destroyed 50,000 buildings.
Taiwan weather officials ranked Wednesday's quake in Hualien as "Upper 6", or the second-highest level of intensity on a scale ranging from 1 to 7.
Such quakes collapse walls unless they are made of reinforced concrete blocks while people cannot stand upright and must crawl in order to move, experts say.
