A powerful earthquake rocked much of Taiwan on Sunday, collapsing a three-story building, temporarily trapping four people inside and leaving about 400 tourists stranded on a mountainside.
The 6.8-magnitude quake was the largest of dozens to hit the island’s southeast coast on Saturday night, after a 6.4-magnitude quake hit the same area.
The Japan Meteorological Agency and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning shortly after the earthquake, and a few hours later, issued a statement that there was no longer a tsunami threat.
Taiwan’s National Fire Agency said one person was killed when a machine crashed into a cement factory in the city of Yuli, near the epicenter. According to the Ministry of Health, 79 people sought medical treatment or were sent to hospital.
Most of the damage was north of the epicenter, where Taiwan’s Central Meteorological Center said it was in the city of Chishang. The three-story building, which had a convenience store on the bottom floor and apartments on the upper floors, collapsed in the nearby town of Yuli, the island’s central news agency reported.
The 70-year-old owner of the building and his wife were the first of the four rescued from the rubble to be arrested, followed by a 39-year-old woman and her 5-year-old daughter. The top two floors of the building were strewn across the street, with power lines trailing through the collapsed building. More than 7,000 homes in Yuli were without power and water pipes were damaged.
According to media reports, police and firefighters rushed to a collapsed bridge on a two-lane road in what appeared to be a rural part of the same town.
And in July, nearly 400 tourists were stranded on the mountain, famous for the orange lilies that cover its slopes this time of year, the Central News Agency reported.
Debris that fell from an awning on a platform at Dongli station in Fuli city, located between the center of Yuli and Chishang, hit a passing train and derailed six cars, the Central News Agency reported, citing the railway administration. He added that none of the 20 passengers were injured.
The earthquake was felt in the northern tip of the island, the capital city of Taipei. In the city of Dayuan, 210 kilometers west of Taipei and north of the epicenter, one person was injured when the roof collapsed on the 5th floor of a sports center.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen urged people to be aware of the risk of earthquakes. “Water and electricity supplies in some areas have been affected by the earthquake,” Tsai Ing-wen wrote on the social networking site Facebook, stressing that rescue operations were underway.
Thousands of people sought refuge in shelters in southwestern Japan this Sunday Cyclone Nanmatol Headed towards the regionLeading officials are recommending the evacuation of more than four million residents.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has issued a “special warning” for Kagoshima and Misayagi, south of the large island of Kyushu, warning residents of a high risk of severe weather.
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