Taiwan Issues Tsunami Warning After Hit By Strongest Quake In 25-year

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked Taiwan on Wednesday, the strongest tremor to hit the island in at least 25 years, killing four people, injuring dozens and sparking a tsunami warning for southern Japan and the Philippines that was later lifted.

Taiwan's government said that four people had died in the mountainous, sparsely populated eastern county of Hualien near where the epicentre was, with more than 50 injured.

At least 26 buildings have collapsed, more than half in Hualien, though in one of the worst damaged ones 22 people were rescued with only one missing, the fire department said.

Taiwan television stations showed footage of buildings at precarious angles in Hualien, where the quake struck just offshore around 8 a.m. (local time) as people were going to work and school.

The quake had a depth of 15.5km (9.6 miles), according to Taiwan's Central Weather Administration.

"It was very strong. It felt as if the house was going to topple," said 60-year-old Taipei hospital worker Chang Yu-Lin.

Video showed rescuers using ladders to help people out of windows, while elsewhere, massive landslides caused by the tremors carved down hillsides.

Japan's weather agency said several small tsunami waves reached parts of the southern prefecture of Okinawa, and later downgraded the earlier tsunami warning to an advisory. It put the earthquake's magnitude at 7.7.

The Philippines Seismology Agency also issued a warning for residents in coastal areas of several provinces, urging them to evacuate to higher ground.

Taiwan also issued a tsunami warning, but reported no damage from that, and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii later said the risk of damaging tsunami waves had passed.