Taiwan hit by strong quake

INA-  sources 

Taiwanese authorities say four people killed in Hualien County, and about 700 others injured.
Taiwan has been rocked by its biggest earthquake in a quarter-century, with the above-7 magnitude tremor killing at least four people, injuring hundreds, and triggering tsunami warnings that passed without damage or causalities.
 
The earthquake on Wednesday shook buildings off their foundations and caused landslides in the eastern part of the island. Dozens of buildings in the eastern city of Hualien collapsed.
Rescue teams were working to free about 20 people believed to be trapped in rubble, authorities said.
 
In the capital, Taipei, vehicles pulled over on the side of the road and the city’s subway service was briefly suspended, while tiles were thrown from older buildings and furniture was knocked over with the force of the earthquake.
 
A series of aftershocks were felt in the capital about 15 minutes later and continued over the next hour. Taiwanese authorities said aftershocks could continue for the next three to four days due to the earthquake’s intensity.
 
Stacy Liu, a Chinese teacher in Taipei who was teaching a class online when the earthquake struck, said it revived childhood memories of Taiwan’s worst quake in recent memory in 1999 when more than 2,400 people were killed.


Source : Aljazeera