Taiwan: Scores of people trapped in tunnels and under rubble – after biggest earthquake in 25 years
Taiwan has been struck by its strongest earthquake in 25 years – causing buildings to collapse and widespread power outages.
Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring agency said Wednesday morning’s quake was magnitude 7.2, while the US Geological Survey put it at 7.4 and Japan’s meteorological agency put it at 7.7.
Nine people have died and 821 have been injured after the quake struck in eastern Taiwan’s Hualien County during morning rush hour at 7.58am local time (12.58am UK time).
Officials have been working to free 127 people who were trapped in the county. Of those, 77 were underground in Dachingshui and Jinwen tunnels and 50 were passengers of four minibuses in downtown Hualien.
Yu-chang Lin, the interior minister of Taiwan, has said the 77 people have been reached and contacted by the island’s highway bureau.
He added that a rescue operation was under way and all of those trapped were expected to be evacuated before 6pm local time (11am UK time). It is not year clear if the rescue operation has been completed.
Meanwhile, authorities said they had lost contact with those trapped in the minibus.
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Taiwan earthquake triggers landslide
Rescue workers stand near the site of a leaning building in the aftermath of an earthquake in Hualien, eastern Taiwan.
Pic: AP
The epicentre of the initial earthquake was about 11 miles southwest of Hualien and about 22 miles deep.
A five-storey building in Hualien was heavily damaged. The first floor collapsed, leaving the rest leaning at a 45-degree angle.
Traffic along the east coast was brought to a virtual standstill, with landslides and falling debris hitting tunnels and highways in the mountainous region.
Rocks and clouds of dust have also been seen crashing down from mountainous regions with roads and buildings situated below.
Meanwhile, buildings have been seen balanced precariously at odd angles after the initial quake.
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Moment earthquake hits Taiwan
Footage from inside a news studio has shown lights swinging around on the ceiling as the room shakes. A news presenter is seen steadying herself by holding onto a screen as she appears to report on what is happening.
Other footage shows a man in a rooftop swimming pool as the earthquake causes the water to sway from side to side.
In the capital Taipei, in the north of the island, tiles fell from the roofs of older buildings and within some newer office complexes.
Meanwhile, more than 87,000 households in Taiwan were without power, according to the island’s electricity supplier.
Train services across Taiwan – which is home to 23 million people – were suspended, as was the metro.
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Taiwan’s strongest quake since 1999
Firefighters work at the site where a building collapsed in Hualien. Pic:Taiwan’s National Fire Agency/Reuters
Firefighters work at the site of a collapsed building in Hualien.
Pic: Taiwan’s National Fire Agency/Reuters
The national legislature in Taipei, a converted school built before the Second World War, also had damage to walls and ceilings.
Schools evacuated their students to sports fields, equipping them with yellow safety helmets.
Some also covered themselves with textbooks to guard against falling objects as aftershocks continued.
Pic: TVBS
Emily Feng, a correspondent with National Public Radio in Taiwan, told Sky News: “In Taipei my building has been swaying for the past couple of hours, there’s still aftershocks, the last one was just a few minutes ago.
“People are relatively used to earthquakes because Taiwan lies right on a major geographical fault line.
“There are earthquakes basically every month or so… this of course was a quake on a much larger scale.
“But people remained relatively calm because they are used to these sorts of natural disasters.”
She added that authorities are now looking at how to get aid into Hualien and also why an emergency alert system did not go off across the island.
Ms Feng added: “Some people got texts telling them the earthquake was coming. The majority of people, including myself, did not.
“Authorities are trying to figure out why that malfunctioned.”
Meanwhile, Taipei resident Hsien-hsuen Keng said: “Earthquakes are a common occurrence, and I’ve grown accustomed to them. But today was the first time I was scared to tears by an earthquake. I was awakened by the earthquake. I had never felt such intense shaking before.”
She said her fifth-floor apartment shook so hard that “apart from earthquake drills in elementary school, this was the first time I had experienced such a situation”.
A view of a damaged flat in Taiwan. Pic: Reuters
The earthquake led to a small tsunami in some coastal areas of Japan, but warnings were later lifted.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said his country stands ready to support Taiwan following the quake.
Japan’s meteorological agency described the earthquake as very shallow, which can cause greater damage.
The agency also said people “must be vigilant” for aftershocks, which could be of similar intensity for about a week.
Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said there has been no report of injury or damage in Japan.
He urged residents in the Okinawa region to stay on high ground until all tsunami advisories were lifted.
Pic: Reuters
The Philippines Seismology Agency also issued urged residents in coastal areas of several provinces to evacuate to higher ground.
Chinese media confirmed the earthquake was felt in Shanghai and several provinces along China’s south-eastern coast.
China and Taiwan are about 100 miles apart. China issued no tsunami warnings for the Chinese mainland.
A landslide occurred as a result of the earthquake in Taiwan. Pic: Tutuloveeat
Multiple aftershocks were felt in Taipei in the hour after the initial quake. The US Geological Society said one of the subsequent tremors was seven miles deep and had a magnitude of 6.5.
Taiwan lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a line of seismic faults where most of the world’s earthquakes occur.
Taiwan’s worst quake in recent years struck in 1999, with a magnitude of 7.7, causing 2,400 deaths, injuring around 100,000 and destroying thousands of buildings.
In March 2011, a 9 magnitude earthquake was the strongest in Japan’s history – triggering a massive tsunami and the world’s worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.
World
‘Better late than never’: Palestinian minister says UK recognition of state would be ‘courageous step’
Britain will be taking “a courageous step at a very difficult time” by officially recognising a Palestinian state, according to the authority’s foreign minister, who told Sky News she believes the announcement – expected in the coming days – will inspire more nations to follow suit.
The Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister, Varsen Aghabekian, told me Britain’s move was “better late than never”, and said “Britain, with its weight, can influence other countries to come forward and recognise, because that is the right thing to do”.
But she also said she is “very angry” with the White House over its “unwavering support” for Israel, and said that Israel’s refusal to pass on tax revenue was pushing Palestinian civil society to the brink of “collapse”.
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Could recognition of Palestine change the West Bank?
Aghabekian was speaking as Britain, along with France, Canada and Australia, prepares to recognise the State of Palestine officially at the United Nations.
She told me: “Britain has been supporting the existence and the flourishing of Israel for some time, but I think today Britain is looking at the matter objectively, in terms of the right of people, in terms of complying with international law, and in terms of the future of this area for both the Israelis and Palestinians.”
She rejected the idea that recognising Palestine was a reward for Hamas terrorism, saying that “non-recognition” would also be a “reward to the extremists” and said that “if we wait until Israel decides it wants to go into negotiations with the Palestinians, then it won’t happen”.
Aghabekian told me she expected Gaza to be returned to the Palestinians, but I put it to her that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was being empowered by the diplomatic support he receives from America, and in particular, US President Donald Trump.
So is she angry with the White House? “Very angry, because I expect the White House and the United States of America to align with international law, with human rights, with having no double standards.
“This unwavering support for Israel, this blind support, is not only harming the Palestinians but also Israeli society.”
Read more:
What does recognising a Palestinian state mean?
Gaza could be ‘real estate bonanza’, Israeli minister says
Varsen Aghabekian speaks to Sky’s Adam Parsons
The state of Palestine is already recognised by three-quarters of the United Nations’ members. It comprises two separate territories – the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. Together, they are officially known as the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The West Bank has been subject to Israeli military occupation since 1967, while Gaza has been attacked by Israel since the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023, when nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 250 people were taken hostage.
Since then, more than 65,000 people have been killed in Gaza as Israel has sought to destroy Hamas and recover its hostages. There are 48 hostages still in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive.
She confirmed to me that Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, “has given guarantees in letters to various leaders around the globe that said Hamas will not be part of the governance of the Gaza Strip” and insisted there was “probably a worldwide consensus” on the topic.
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How has UK responded to Israel-Gaza conflict?
But she also insisted it was “not reasonable” to talk of completely erasing Hamas: “Hamas is an ideology, not a building that you bring down. Hamas is in people’s minds; in their heads.
“Those who support Hamas need to see a future, need to see something that is moving on the political level, need to see that there might be a state in which their children and their grandchildren might prosper.
“What people see today, whether they are Hamas supporters or not, they see darkness and they see destruction all over. They see violation of rights. They are helpless and hopeless. People need to see things are moving forward, and once that happens, there will be a shift in the mood, and they will look for a better future.”
But just as the Palestinians prepare to welcome recognition, Aghabekian said the West Bank was facing financial collapse as Israel continues to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars of tax revenue that, under a 30-year-old agreement, it collects on the Palestinian Authority’s behalf.
Israel has retained a proportion of the money since the start of the war in Gaza, but, encouraged by finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, it has recently withheld a much higher amount.
“People have not been paid, civil servants are only receiving small parts of their salaries. We can’t buy medical supplies, equipment, you name it,” said Aghabekian.
“How can a government run a country under such conditions? So yes, we are very worried.”
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