TAIPEI: A 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit Taiwan’s east on Wednesday (Apr 3), in what has been described as the strongest in a quarter of a century.
“The earthquake is close to land and it’s shallow. It’s felt all over Taiwan and offshore islands … it’s the strongest in 25 years since the (1999) earthquake,” director of Taipei’s Seismology Centre Wu Chien-fu told reporters, referring to a September 1999 quake with 7.6-magnitude that killed 2,400 people.
The quake, which struck shortly before 8am local time (8am, Singapore time), prompted tsunami warnings in Japan and the Philippines.
Tsunami waves as high as 3m were expected immediately for remote Japanese islands near Taiwan, including Miyakojima island, Japan’s Meteorological Agency (JMA) said the agency said.
“Evacuate!” said a banner on national broadcaster NHK.
“Tsunami is coming. Please evacuate immediately,” an anchor on NHK said. “Do not stop. Do not go back.”
