Taiwan Earthquake Kills at Least Four; Many Are Missing

HONG KONG — A powerful earthquake struck Taiwan just before midnight on Tuesday, damaging buildings in the city of Hualien, killing four people and leaving an additional 145 missing, according to the authorities.

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 Survey reported.

At least 225 people were injured, according to the Hualien County disaster response center. The National Fire Agency said 149 people had been pulled from the rubble. It said that 40,000 people were without water, and 645 without electricity.

Most of the missing are believed to be trapped in a damaged building in downtown Hualien, the county disaster response center said.

“Armed forces & government agencies are responding,” Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, wrote on Twitter. “Relief measures are underway. Stay safe.”

Taiwan’s government said that at least four buildings had partly collapsed or were left leaning at dangerous angles.

Images carried by Taiwanese news media outlets showed a multistory building pitched at a severe angle. The bottom floors of the Marshal Hotel also collapsed and two people were missing in that building, the county government said.

Hualien is near the entrance to Taroko National Park, one of Taiwan’s most famous scenic areas, where the Taroko Gorge cuts through mountains that rise steeply from the coast. The region is less populated than Taiwan’s west coast.

Taiwan is prone to earthquakes and has had a few in recent days, including magnitude 5.3 and 6.1 quakes on Sunday. No one was killed in those quakes.

Tuesday was the second anniversary of a 6.4-magnitude earthquake that struck northeast of Pingtung City in southern Taiwan, killing 117 people.