At least seven people were killed and more than 700 injured Wednesday by a powerful earthquake in Taiwan that damaged dozens of buildings and prompted tsunami warnings that extended to Japan and the Philippines before being lifted.
Officials said the quake was the strongest to shake the island in decades, and warned of more tremors in the days ahead.
Strict building regulations and widespread public disaster awareness appear to have staved off a major catastrophe for the earthquake-prone island, which lies near the junction of two tectonic plates.
Wednesday’s magnitude-7.4 quake hit just before 8:00 am local time, with the United States Geological Survey, USGS, putting the epicentre 18 kilometres south of Taiwan’s Hualien City, at a depth of 34.8 kilometres.
