The Taiwanese government reported that the strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in the past 25 years occurred on Wednesday, leaving more than 1,000 people injured.
The quake, with a magnitude of 7.4, occurred just before 8 a.m. local time, centred near the city of Hualien on the eastern coast.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the island experienced more than 100 aftershocks, including a significant one with a magnitude of 6.5 near Hualien.
The National Fire Agency and the EMIC in Taipei confirmed that the incident, which killed nine people, took place in Hualien. It is believed that another 143 individuals are trapped, either under debris or in various locations.
The Taiwanese Ministry of Health and Welfare reported that this number includes at least 71 miners across two rock quarries within cement factory regions, with 64 trapped in the Heping Mine and seven in the Zhonghe Mine Heren Mining area.
Additionally, numerous tourists and staff are trapped in Hualian’s Taroko National Park. This includes 47 employees at the Silk Place Taroko Hotel and 24 tourists in the Jiuqu Cave tourist area.
The umber of injured people escalated throughout Wednesday as more information about the devastation became available. Initially, 57 injuries were reported across the island around noon. By 2 p.m., this number had risen to 711, according to emergency services.
The figure increased to 821 by the 4:30 p.m. update and reached 934 by 6 p.m.
The final tally for the day was 1,011 injuries. A significant portion of these injuries, at least 317, were reported in Taipei and New Taipei City, which are located approximately 80 to 100 miles from the quake’s epicentre.
The USGS recalled the September 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, a magnitude 7.7 event that killed at least 2,297 people and caused $14 billion in damages, noting its proximity to the recent quake’s location.
