Hualien, China- A 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit eastern Taiwan‘s Hualien County on Sunday, collapsing a building.
Authorities have cited that at least one person has been confirmed dead, two people were said to be trapped in the collapsed building, while rescue efforts are underway for three people who fell off a damaged bridge.
In addition, the Taiwan Railways Administration said three carriages came off the rails at Dongli station in eastern Taiwan after part of the platform canopy collapsed, and the roughly 20 passengers aboard had been evacuated and were uninjured.
According to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC), the epicentre was monitored at 23.15 degrees north latitude and 121.30 degrees east longitude, at a depth of 10 kilometres.
More than 100 people were killed in a quake in southern Taiwan in 2016, while a 7.3 magnitude quake killed more than 2 000 people in 1999.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Meteorological Agency (JMA) has issued a tsunami warning for Miyako island in the East China Sea following the quake.
Thousands of people were in shelters in southwestern Japan on Sunday as powerful Typhoon Nanmadol churned towards the region, prompting authorities to urge nearly three million residents to evacuate.
“Maximum caution is required. It’s a very dangerous typhoon. The wind will be so fierce that some houses might collapse. The southern part of the Kyushu region may see the sort of violent wind, high waves and high tides that have never been experienced before.
Highest caution possible, please move into sturdy buildings before violent winds start to blow and stay away from windows even inside sturdy buildings,” said Ryuta Kurora, head of JMA’s forecast unit.
By Sunday morning, 25 680 households in Kagoshima and neighbouring Miyazaki were already without power, while regional train services, flights and ferry runs were cancelled until the passage of the storm.
So far, 2.9 million residents in Kyushu have been issued evacuation warnings, according to the government’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency, and Kagoshima officials said over 8 500 people were already in local shelters by Sunday morning.
Moreso, by Sunday morning, bullet train operations in the area were halted, along with regional train lines, and at least 510 flights had been cancelled.
Japan is currently in a typhoon season and faces around 20 such storms a year, routinely seeing heavy rains that cause landslides or flash floods.
In 2019, Typhoon Hagibis smashed into Japan as it hosted the Rugby World Cup, claiming the lives of more than 100 people.
