Taipei, Taiwan: The quake jolted the eastern part of the state, pushing the suspension of metropolitan Taipei, capital of Taiwan.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake has struck Taiwan’s coastal city of Hualien, shaking buildings and temporarily suspending subway services in the capital Taipei, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, reported Al Jazeera.
Local television footage showed school children being evacuated from buildings, while a weather bureau official said Thursday’s quake was the largest to hit the island so far this year.
It struck at 1:01pm local time (05:01 GMT) at a depth of 18km.
As per reports by Associated Press, water pipes at the city’s train station burst and rail traffic was briefly suspended. Schools along the east coast were evacuated, with students holding their backpacks over their heads for protection. TV footage showed at least one landslide in a lightly populated area.
Two hikers in the famed Taroko Gorge national park, including one from Malaysia, were injured by falling rocks, the Hualien government reported.
In Taipei, about 115 kilometers (71 miles) from the epicenter, people felt buildings shake, and one multi-story building was leaning against its neighbor after its foundation shifted.
Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes.
“We felt the quake move the building vertically and that’s more serious than normal,” Georgia Kao, a Taipei resident, told Al Jazeera.
“I felt very scared. It reminded me of the 1999 earthquake. The building moved up and down and then right to left. The first thing I did was to open my door and grab both my daughters. Luckily, it didn’t last very long.”
Stay tuned for more updates!
