Taiwan hit by strongest earthquake in 25 years

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked Taiwan on Wednesday, the most muscular tremor to hit the island in at least 25 years, killing four people, injuring dozens, and sparking a tsunami warning for southern Japan and the Philippines that was later lifted.

Taiwan's government said four people had died in the mountainous, sparsely populated eastern county of Hualien, where the epicenter was, with more than 50 injured.

At least 26 buildings have collapsed, more than half in Hualien, with about 20 people trapped and rescue work ongoing, it said.

Chinese state media said the quake was felt in China's Fujian province, while a Reuters witness said it was also felt in Shanghai.

Taiwan's official central news agency said the quake was the biggest to hit the island since 1999 when a 7.6-magnitude tremor killed 2,400 people and destroyed or damaged 50,000 buildings in one of Taiwan's worst-recorded quakes.

Taiwan's Central Weather Administration said the earthquake registered the second-highest intensity of an "Upper 6" in Hualien County on the 1-7 intensity scale.

Reuters