A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit the sparsely populated southeastern part of Taiwan on Sunday (September 18) causing some damage but no casualties.
Taiwan’s fire department said all four people were rescued from a building housing a convenience store that collapsed in Yuli, while three people whose vehicle fell off a damaged bridge were rescued and taken to hospital. The Taiwan Railways Administration said three carriages came off the rails at Dongli station in eastern Taiwan after part of the platform canopy collapsed. The fire department said one person was injured.
The weather bureau said the epicenter was in Taitung county, and followed a 6.4 magnitude tremor on Saturday evening in the same area, which had caused no casualties. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at a magnitude 7.2 and at a depth of 10 km (six miles).
The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for Taiwan after the tremor but later lifted the alert. Japan’s weather agency also lifted an earlier tsunami warning for part of Okinawa prefecture.
(Reuters)
