A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 followed by a smaller quake with a magnitude of 6.5 struck off Taiwan’s eastern coast Wednesday, according to the US Geological Survey, prompting tsunami warnings in southern Japan.
The first quake, with a magnitude of 7.4, struck at 7:58pm ET (7:58am local time) and had an epicenter located about 18 kilometers (11 miles) south of the city of Hualien and shook buildings in the capital Taipei.
The second quake, with a magnitude of 6.5, hit 13 minutes later at 8:11pm ET, and was lcoated at almost the exact same spot as the first one: its epicenter was about 11 kilometers northeast of Hualien City.
Tsunami waves are possible along the Taiwan coast, the Pacific Tsunami warning center said. A tsunami warning was also issued for southwestern Japan’s Okinawa prefecture after the region was rocked by the quake.
Local residents were urged to evacuate from an expected tsunami of as high as 3 meters, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Unconfirmed clips posted on X showed landslides in the aftermath of the strong quake.
WATCH: Strong earthquake causes landslide in eastern Taiwan pic.twitter.com/SQZFyd7zgj
— BNO News (@BNONews) April 3, 2024
🚨#BREAKING: Multiple buildings have collapsed after a Pair of Massive 7.5 Earthquakes Strikes Triggering Tsunami Warnings
Currently, a pair of powerful, massive earthquakes has just occurred. The first one measured a magnitude of 7.5, followed by a 7.4… pic.twitter.com/XCKd7ocjel
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) April 3, 2024
7.4 magnitude earthquake hits Taiwan, tsunami warning has been issued. My condolences#earthquake #Taiwan #Tsunami pic.twitter.com/re1kSRmWOI
— Kamran (@GKamranKhan) April 3, 2024
⚠️ LIVE: TAIWAN JUST HIT WITH 7.2 MAG QUAKE! https://t.co/VXwNAJG0bs
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 3, 2024
⚠ Confirmed: Internet outages have been registered in parts of #Taiwan after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake; the decline in network connectivity comes amid reports of power outages with a tsunami warning issued; nuclear regulator observes no issues with reactors at present 📉 pic.twitter.com/7hERFHXU87
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) April 3, 2024
#BREAKING The main airport in Japan’s Okinawa has suspended flights after tsunami alert, says official pic.twitter.com/HF8S7U6zzH
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) April 3, 2024
