Taiwan earthquake

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A major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 struck off Taiwan’s eastern coast Wednesday, according to the US Geological Survey, prompting tsunami warnings in southern Japan.

The quake’s epicenter is located about 18 kilometers (11 miles) south of the city of Hualien.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued a tsunami warning for Miyakojima and Okinawa islands, warning of waves up to 3 meters expected imminently.

An earthquake rocked the entire island of Taiwan early Wednesday, killing nine, injuring hundreds, collapsing buildings in a southern city and sparking a brief tsunami warning for southern Japanese islands.

Taiwan's fire department said nine people have died in the mountainous, sparsely populated eastern county of Hualien, where the earthquake's epicenter was located. More than 800 people were injured in the incident and authorities lost contact with 50 people aboard four minibuses heading to a hotel in a national park.

At least 26 buildings have collapsed, with more than half in the city of Hualien. Nearly 80 people were trapped as rescue work continued, the government said. Fire authorities said about 60 of the people trapped were caught in a tunnel just north of Hualien city.

Video and images on social media showed buildings shaken off their foundations. A five-story building in lightly populated Hualien appeared heavily damaged, collapsing its first floor and leaving the rest leaning at a 45-degree angle.

In the capital, Taipei, tiles fell from older buildings and within some newer office complexes.

The U.S. Geological Survey put the 9.6 mile quake at a 7.4 magnitude, while Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring agency gave it a magnitude of 7.2. The effects of the earthquake were felt as far away as Kinmen, a Taiwanese-controlled island off the coast of China, said Wu Chien-fu, the head of Taiwan's earthquake monitoring bureau.

Multiple aftershocks were recorded, and the USGS said one of the subsequent quakes measured 6.5 magnitude and 7.8 miles deep.

Train service across the island of 23 million people was suspended. In Taipei, children were seen going to school and the morning commute appeared normal.

The quake was believed to be the biggest in Taiwan since a temblor in 1999 caused extensive damage. Taiwan lies along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur.