Hong Kong, Feb 6: An earthquake struck Taiwan before midnight on Tuesday, causing buildings to collapse in the city of Hualien. The 6.4-magnitude quake was recorded at 11:50 p.m. and was centered about 14 miles northeast of Hualien, a city of 110,000 on Taiwan’s east coast, the United States Geological Service reported.
Photos of a huge hotel tilted on its side, with roads near the hotel ripped up by the shaking is going viral. Local media reported a number of buildings had toppled with around 30 people trapped in the collapsed hotel.
Rescue efforts are on to take out people trapped in the debris. The government confirmed that a hotel had collapsed, but no further details were immediately available. Multiple aftershocks are continuing to strike the area. Taiwan is prone to earthquakes and has felt a few in recent days, including magnitude 5.3 and 6.1 quakes on Sunday. No one was killed in those quakes.
Meanwhile, no tsunami warning has been issued as result of earthquake. People were requested to move on to the safer place.
Tuesday was the second anniversary of a 6.4-magnitude earthquake that struck northeast of Pingtung City in southern Taiwan, killing 117 people.
The island’s worst tremor in recent decades was a 7.6-magnitude quake in September 1999 that killed around 2,400 people.