Welcome and opening abstract
A strong earthquake has hit off the coast of Taiwan, rocking all the island and collapsing buildings in not less than one city. I’m Reged Ahmad and I’ll be with you for the subsequent whereas.
Japan issued a tsunami alert for the southern Japanese island group of Okinawa, in response to Related Press.
Extra on that in a second however first – right here’s a abstract of what we all know thus far:
-
Japan’s meteorological company forecast a tsunami of as much as 3 meters, or 9.8 toes for some areas.
-
The Japan Meteorological Company reported {that a} 30cm tsunami reached Yonaguni Island at 9:18 am (0018 GMT), Reuters experiences.
-
Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring company gave the magnitude as 7.2 whereas the US Geological Survey put it at 7.5.
-
Tv have proven buildings within the japanese metropolis of Hualien shaken off their foundations.
-
The quake got here at 7:58am native time and may very well be felt within the capital Taipei.
Key occasions
First photos out of Taiwan emerge
Right here is an early picture out of Taiwain from the aftermath of the earthquake:
Some background on the historical past of earthquakes in Taiwan
The nation is commonly hit by earthquakes as a result of the island lies close to the junction of two tectonic plates.
A 7.6-magnitude quake hit Taiwan in September 1999, killing about 2,400 folks within the deadliest pure catastrophe within the island’s historical past.
Earthquake are additionally frequent in Japan, the place about 1,500 jolts are felt yearly.
The overwhelming majority are gentle, though the harm they trigger varies in response to the depth of the epicentre under the Earth’s floor and its location.
The severity of tsunamis – huge and probably damaging collection of waves that may transfer at a whole bunch of kilometres per hour – additionally relies upon upon a number of components.
Even bigger quakes normally trigger little harm in Japan and Taiwan because of particular building strategies and strict constructing rules.
Japan has additionally developed subtle procedures and expertise to alert and evacuate folks when wanted.
Japan’s greatest earthquake on file was 9.0-magnitude in March 2011 off Japan’s northeast coast, which triggered a tsunami that left about 18,500 folks lifeless or lacking.
The 2011 disaster additionally despatched three reactors into meltdown on the Fukushima nuclear plant, inflicting Japan’s worst postwar catastrophe and probably the most critical nuclear accident since Chornobyl.
Earthquake felt in China – experiences
A witness has instructed the Reuters information company that the earthquake was additionally felt in Shanghai, China.
Chinese language state media is reporting that it was felt in Fuzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Ningde in China’s Fujian province.
Taiwan experiences collapsed buildings
Tv photos are displaying buildings within the metropolis of Hualien shaken off their foundations after the earthquake.
Elsewhere, the Islandwide practice service has been suspended, as was subway service in Taipei.
Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring company gave the magnitude as 7.2 whereas the U.S. Geological Survey put it at 7.5. The depth was about 33km.
Philippines points tsunami warning
The Philippines seismology company has issued a tsunami warning as nicely after that robust Taiwan quake, with Philippine coastal areas fronting the Pacific Ocean anticipated to expertise “excessive tsunami waves”, in response to the Reuters information company.
Individuals within the coastal areas in a number of provinces have been suggested to right away evacuate to greater grounds or transfer farther inland, the advisory learn.
Japan points tsunami advisory
Justin McCurry
A tsunami advisory has been issued in southern Japan after a strong earthquake struck close to Taiwan on Wednesday morning, in response to Japan’s meteorological company (JMA).
Tv confirmed collapsing buildings within the japanese Taiwan metropolis of Hualien.
Japanese media mentioned the magnitude 7.5 quake may set off waves as excessive as 3 metres in some areas of Okinawa prefecture, positioned roughly 1,000 miles south of Tokyo.
A 30 cm tsunami has reached Yonaguni Island at 9:18 am (0018 GMT), the JMA mentioned.
Announcers on public broadcaster NHK urged folks to not go close to the coast and to evacuate to greater areas, whereas warnings in English and Japanese appeared on the display.
Learn our breaking story right here:
Welcome and opening abstract
A strong earthquake has hit off the coast of Taiwan, rocking all the island and collapsing buildings in not less than one city. I’m Reged Ahmad and I’ll be with you for the subsequent whereas.
Japan issued a tsunami alert for the southern Japanese island group of Okinawa, in response to Related Press.
Extra on that in a second however first – right here’s a abstract of what we all know thus far:
-
Japan’s meteorological company forecast a tsunami of as much as 3 meters, or 9.8 toes for some areas.
-
The Japan Meteorological Company reported {that a} 30cm tsunami reached Yonaguni Island at 9:18 am (0018 GMT), Reuters experiences.
-
Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring company gave the magnitude as 7.2 whereas the US Geological Survey put it at 7.5.
-
Tv have proven buildings within the japanese metropolis of Hualien shaken off their foundations.
-
The quake got here at 7:58am native time and may very well be felt within the capital Taipei.
Supply hyperlink
