6.9 magnitude earthquake strikes Taiwan; Japan issues tsunami warning

A strong earthquake shook Taiwan’s south-eastern coast on Sunday (September 18) even as Japan issued a tsunami warning, said the US Geological Survey. One building has fallen down in a small town of Yuli.

Media reports said according to the USGS the quake hit at 2:44 pm (0644 GMT) about 50 kilometres north of the city of Taitung, at a depth of 10 km.

It’s initial strength was given as 7.2-magnitude but USGS later downgraded it to a 6.9-magnitude quake. The quake tremors was also felt in the capital Taipei.

A 6.6 magnitude quake had hit the same region on Saturday and there have been multiple tremors. But there was minimal damage in what is a mountainous, sparsely populated rural region. But, Sunday’s quake was much stronger.

Also read: Strong Taiwan earthquake traps people, derails train

Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami advisory to remote islands near Taiwan. Waves as high as one metre were expected to arrive around 4 pm (0700 GMT), it added.

The China Earthquake Network Centre said tremors were clearly felt in coastal areas, including Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Shanghai. Taiwan is regularly hit by earthquakes as the island lies near the junction of two tectonic plates. The island is located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches through south-east Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Taiwan’s deadliest ever quake was a 7.6-magnitude jolt in September 1999 that killed over 2,400 people.