At 8:00 am on Wednesday, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake, the strongest the island has seen in over two decades, hit Taiwan and destroyed dozens of buildings, killing at least nine people and injuring over 700 others.

Wu Chien-fu, director of Taipei's Central Weather Administration's Seismology Center, said "The earthquake is close to land and it's shallow. It's felt all over Taiwan and offshore islands."

News outlets reported the ramifications of the earthquake on live TV, showing how buildings were tilting, the collapse of multi-story structures and factories, and the efforts of rescue teams to evacuate Hualien; which was completely cut off from its surrounding areas, trapping 100,000 people in between landslides.

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It's shocking incident, happened in Taiwan ! See the Skyscraper condition!#Japan #earthquake #Tsunami pic.twitter.com/6CLwVdUbvX

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"It was shaking violently, the paintings on the wall, my TV and liquor cabinet fell," one man in Hualien told broadcaster SET TV.

In Taipei, the metro briefly stopped functioning, while the chip manufacturing factory, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, also experienced a pause in fabrication and halted construction at several of its plants for the day. 

The mayor of New Taipei City, where a warehouse collapsed to the ground, said 50 survivors were pulled out from under the rubble.

Three people out of a group of seven were crushed by boulders sliding off a hill while the group went on a morning hike, and a landslide hit a vehicle near a tunnel, resulting in the death of its driver. 

The National Fire Agency of Taiwan said the deaths were concentrated in Hualien County, and revealed that 736 individuals have been injured so far. 

Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen, urged for national cooperation between local and central government agencies for rescue missions and relief efforts, with help from the military. 

For the upcoming days, Taiwan warned of subsequent tremors.

Regional Ramifications

Japan's Meteorological Agency anticipated tsunami waves reaching heights of up to three meters (10 feet) imminently for remote Japanese islands near Taiwan, such as Miyakojima island.

"Evacuate!" said a banner on national broadcaster NHK. "Tsunami is coming. Please evacuate immediately," an anchor on NHK said. "Do not stop. Do not go back."

On the other hand, the Philippines issued a warning of "high tsunami waves" and urged the evacuation of coastal regions across the country on Wednesday following a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in neighboring Taiwan.

"The people in the coastal areas of the following provinces are strongly advised to immediately evacuate to higher grounds or move farther inland," the state seismology institute said in an advisory.

The warning encompassed coastal regions in 23 provinces spanning from the northern to the southern parts of the archipelago nation, excluding the capital Manila. The announcement stated that these areas "are anticipated to encounter significant tsunami waves" according to tsunami wave models.

The warnings were later dismissed, as the threat of a tsunami had "largely passed".

In Hong Kong, China, residents also felt the earthquake rippling. 

Chinese news media outlet Xinhua reported that China was willing to provide relief assistance, and was closely watching the post-quake situation. 

A portion of Guishan Island, also referred to as Turtle Island, has reportedly become ‘separated’ due to earthquakes in Taiwan.
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