- Taiwan’s Hualien county struck by two quakes 13 minutes apart, with local media reporting collapsed buildings and people trapped in wreckage
- Hong Kong Observatory grades local tremors a three on Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, meaning they resembled vibrations from passing light trucks
The Taiwanese county of Hualien has been struck by two quakes only 13 minutes apart. Photo: Facebook/Thaw A-kingAround 100 Hongkongers reported feeling tremors after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit Taiwan’s southeast coast on Wednesday morning, according to the city’s forecaster.
The Hong Kong Observatory said the quake hit at 7.58am about 15km (9.3 miles) southeast of the Taiwanese county of Hualien and had an epicentre spanning 10km.
Hongkongers said they could feel minor shakes for several seconds at just 790km from the area, with the city’s forecaster receiving more than 100 reports.
The Observatory graded local tremors a three on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, meaning they could be felt indoors and resembled vibrations caused by passing light trucks.
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A second quake with a magnitude of 6.4 and a 10km epicentre struck 25km east-northeast of Hualien just 13 minutes after the first, the forecaster said.
Taiwanese media showed footage of several collapsed buildings in the area resulting from the incident and said some people had become trapped.
Japan issued an evacuation advisory for coastal areas along the Okinawa prefecture after the earthquakes triggered a tsunami warning.
Tsunami waves measuring up to three metres in height were expected to hit large areas of the country’s southwestern coast, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.