Two strong earthquakes , of magnitude 7.4 and 6.5 , were recorded during the night in Taiwan : the first earthquake was located 18 km south-east of Hualien City, about 155 km south of the capital Taipei, at a depth of 34.8 km. The second earthquake was recorded at sea, 11 km northeast of Hualien City, at a depth of 11.8 km.
The first tremor , the "strongest in the last 25 years", caused numerous buildings to collapse in the area near the epicenter and there were people trapped under the rubble .
At the moment the local authorities speak of 9 dead, more than 700 injured and 77 people under the rubble , but the data is being updated. More than 87 thousand citizens were left without electricity and many were stuck in tunnels.
A local Taiwanese broadcaster publishes images of a severely damaged five-story residential building : the first floor of the building has collapsed while the rest is tilted at a 45-degree angle.
In the capital Taipei, roof tiles fell from older buildings and there was damage inside some office complexes.
Rail service was suspended across the island of 23 million people, as was subway service in Taipei. In the capital, however, the situation quickly returned to normal and schools are open.
Great fear also in Japan , where the violent earthquake registered in Taiwan triggered a tsunami warning in the early hours, with the authorities of the southern prefecture of Okinawa suspending flights at the main airport in the region. The alert was later lifted.
Meanwhile, China has already announced that it is ready to " offer assistance ".
(Unioneonline/vl)