A deadly 6.4 magnitude quake has devastated the eastern city of Hualien. Rescuers are searching for at least 60 people who are still missing, while more than 250 people have been injured, some critically.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMA Wire/Y. Yuewei
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6.4 magnitude earthquake rocks Taiwan
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Rescuers scoured through rubble in the port city of Hualien on Wednesday in search of survivors from a 6.4 magnitude earthquake that rocked Taiwan late on Tuesday.
At least 60 people are still missing, officials said, and 117 people have been rescued. Many of the missing are believed to be trapped within collapsed buildings.
The quake, which struck about 21 kilometers (13 miles) northeast of Hualien shortly before midnight local time (1550 UTC), left at least six people dead and at least 250 injured — two dozen critically.
President on site
Thousands of homes suffered from power and water supply disruptions and about 830 people are in shelters.
President Tsai Ing-wen, who arrived in Hualien Wednesday to oversee rescue efforts, said: "This is when the Taiwanese people show their calm, resilience and love."
Officials said magnitude 5 aftershocks could hit the island during the next two weeks.
When Mother Nature gets angry, really angry
On average, some 10,000 people die in earthquakes around the world annually. The temblors have often provoked tsunamis and wider devastation. DW takes a look at some of the most powerful earthquakes of the last century.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Barret
Most powerful earthquake ever recorded
The most powerful earthquake ever recorded hit Chile's coast in May 1960. The quake, 9.5 on the Richter scale, lasted almost 10 minutes, resulting in massive infrastructure damage. Around 5,700 people were killed in Chile while the resulting tsunami left 130 people dead in Japan and another 61 in Hawaii. This picture shows the remains of Corral harbor in Chile's Valdivia province.
Image: Getty Images/AFP
Good Friday earthquake
The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, remains the strongest earthquake to hit the US to date. It occured on Good Friday, March 27, across south-central Alaska. The quake and the following tsunamis caused about 139 deaths. The picture above is from a small fishing village on Kodiak Island and it shows debris from houses and boats.
Image: Getty Images/Central Press
Most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan
A team member from Japan's Rescue Dog Association and his dog search for victims. Northeastern Japan was struck by a devastating earthquake, measuring 9.1 on the moment magnitude scale, followed by a massive tsunami. The natural disasters claimed almost 18,500 lives, and crippled the Fukushima nuclear power plant, in what is considered the world's worst nuclear power disaster since Chernobyl.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/Y. Chiba
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The undersea megathrust earthquake, magnitude 9.1, triggered a series of devastating tsunamis, killing some 280,000 people in 14 different countries and inundating coastal communities with waves up to a 100 feet. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.
Image: Getty Images/P.M. Bonafede/U.S. Navy
Kamchatka earthquake
A megathrust earthquake occurred off the coast of Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Russia on November 4, 1952. The 9.0 magnitude quake caused a tsunami leading to widespread destruction and loss of life around the Kamchatka peninsula and the Kuril Islands. More than 2,300 people were killed.
2010 Chile earthquake
An 8.8 magnitude earthquake occurred off the coast of central Chile in February 2010. It triggered a tsunami which devastated several coastal towns in south-central Chile and damaged the port at Talcahuano. The quake and the following tsunami resulted in the deaths of around 450 people, while damage to the local fisheries' business was estimated at 66.7 million US dollars.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Bernetti
China 1976 quake
An abandoned railway coach in Tangshan, China after an earthquake devastated the industrial town on July 28, 1976. The quake, measured at 7.4, struck near the industrial city in northeastern Hebei province. The official death toll is given as 242,000 but is believed to be significantly higher. Some estimates put the deathtoll at around 500,000.
Image: Getty Images/Keystone/Hulton Archive
1920 Haiyuan earthquake
The earthquake, measured at 8.3, occurred in the Haiyuan county of the northern province of Ningxia and caused aftershocks for almost three years. As a result, up to 235,000 people died immediately. Many more, who were living in camps due to the continuing aftershocks, perished later due to severe winter conditions.
Image: Getty Images/AFP
2010 Haiti earthquake
A man walks amid the rubble of a destroyed building in Port-au-Prince following the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti on January 12, 2010. With a magnitude of 7.0, the quake destroyed thousands of buildings and left at least 200,000 people dead.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Barret
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Popular tourist spot
Hualien, home to about 100,000 people, is one of Taiwan's most popular tourist destinations due to its location along the country's scenic eastern coast rail line and location near the well-known Taroko Gorge national park.
The latest quake comes just two days after twin tremors struck the island nation within two hours of each other. About 100 other small tremors have occured over the past few days.
Taiwan's position at the edge of two tectonic plates makes it a regular site for earthquakes. In 2016, an earthquake off of southern Taiwan killed 117 people. In 1999, a 7.6 magnitude quake killed about 2,400 people in one of the country's worst natural disasters.
