Taiwan shaken by powerful earthquake, causes building damage and tsunami

A big earthquake shook Taiwan on Wednesday and caused buildings to fall down in a city in the south. It also made a big wave that hit islands in southern Japan.

A tall building in a not very crowded area called Hualien was badly broken. The first floor fell down and the rest of the building is leaning to one side at a 45-degree angle. In Taipei, tiles fell from old and new buildings.

Train service and subway service in Taipei were stopped for the 23 million people on the island. However, everything went back to normal in the city. Kids went to school and the morning traffic was like usual.

The Japan Meteorological Agency found a 30 centimeter (about one foot) tsunami wave on the coast of Yonaguni island 15 minutes after the earthquake. The JAMA said that waves will likely also hit the coast of Miyako and Yaeyama islands. Japan’s Self Defense Force sent planes to find out about the damage from the tsunami in the Okinawa area. They were also getting shelters ready in case people needed to be evacuated.

Taiwan’s earthquake agency said the earthquake was a 7.2, but the US Geological Survey said it was a 7. 4It happened at 7:58 in the morning. Around 18 kilometers to the south-southwest of Hualien and about 35 kilometers (or 21 miles) deep.

Wu Chien-fu, the leader of Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring group, said they noticed the earthquake effects all the way to Kinmen, an island controlled by Taiwan near China. Several smaller earthquakes were felt in Taipei within an hour after the first big one.

The USGS said that one of the smaller earthquakes measured 6.5 magnitude and was 11. 8 kilometers (seven miles) deep.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said Hawaii and Guam are not in danger of a tsunami.

The earthquake was thought to be the largest in Taiwan since a big quake in 1999 that caused a lot of damage. Taiwan is located in a place where a lot of earthquakes happen, called the “Ring of Fire. ” This area has many faults in the ground that can cause earthquakes.