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Post by Newsman on Apr 2, 2024 20:44:01 GMT -5
 ...reports of a Magnitude 7 earthquake in the vicinity of Taiwan have come into the C2 Newsroom...(The Guardian) Welcome and opening summaryA powerful earthquake has hit off the coast of Taiwan, rocking the entire island and collapsing buildings in at least one town. Japan issued a tsunami alert for the southern Japanese island group of Okinawa, according to Associated Press. More on that in a moment but first – here’s a summary of what we know so far: --Japan’s meteorological agency forecast a tsunami of up to 3 meters, or 9.8 feet for some areas. --The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that a 30cm tsunami reached Yonaguni Island at 9:18 am (0018 GMT), Reuters reports. --Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring agency gave the magnitude as 7.2 while the US Geological Survey put it at 7.5. --Television have shown buildings in the eastern city of Hualien shaken off their foundations. --The quake came at 7:58am local time and could be felt in the capital Taipei. |
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Post by Webster on Apr 2, 2024 20:48:22 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Japan issues tsunami advisoryA tsunami advisory has been issued in southern Japan after a powerful earthquake struck near Taiwan on Wednesday morning, according to Japan’s meteorological agency (JMA). Television showed collapsing buildings in the eastern Taiwan city of Hualien. Japanese media said the magnitude 7.5 quake could trigger waves as high as 3 metres in some areas of Okinawa prefecture, located roughly 1,000 miles south of Tokyo. A 30 cm tsunami has reached Yonaguni Island at 9:18 am (0018 GMT), the JMA said. Announcers on public broadcaster NHK urged people not to go near the coast and to evacuate to higher areas, while warnings in English and Japanese appeared on the screen.
Philippines issues tsunami warningThe Philippines seismology agency has issued a tsunami warning as well after that strong Taiwan quake, with Philippine coastal areas fronting the Pacific Ocean expected to experience “high tsunami waves”, according to the Reuters news agency. People in the coastal areas in several provinces were advised to immediately evacuate to higher grounds or move farther inland, the advisory read.
Taiwan reports collapsed buildingsTelevision images are showing buildings in the city of Hualien shaken off their foundations after the earthquake. Elsewhere, the Islandwide train service has been suspended, as was subway service in Taipei. Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring agency gave the magnitude as 7.2 while the U.S. Geological Survey put it at 7.5. The depth was about 33km.
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Post by Webster on Apr 2, 2024 20:50:42 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Earthquake felt in China - reportsA witness has told the Reuters news agency that the earthquake was also felt in Shanghai, China. Chinese state media is reporting that it was felt in Fuzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Ningde in China’s Fujian province.
Some background on the history of earthquakes in TaiwanThe country is regularly hit by earthquakes because the island lies near the junction of two tectonic plates. A 7.6-magnitude quake hit Taiwan in September 1999, killing about 2,400 people in the deadliest natural disaster in the island’s history. Earthquakes are also common in Japan, where about 1,500 jolts are felt every year. The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to the depth of the epicentre below the Earth’s surface and its location. The severity of tsunamis – vast and potentially destructive series of waves that can move at hundreds of kilometres per hour – also depends upon multiple factors. Even larger quakes usually cause little damage in Japan and Taiwan thanks to special construction techniques and strict building regulations. Japan has also developed sophisticated procedures and technology to alert and evacuate people when needed. Japan’s biggest earthquake on record was 9.0-magnitude in March 2011 off Japan’s northeast coast, which triggered a tsunami that left about 18,500 people dead or missing. The 2011 catastrophe also sent three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing Japan’s worst postwar disaster and the most serious nuclear accident since Chornobyl.
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Post by Webster on Apr 2, 2024 20:51:36 GMT -5
 In this image taken from a video footage run by TVBS, a woman stands near a partially collapsed building in Hualien, eastern Taiwan. Photograph: Anonymous/AP |
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Post by Webster on Apr 2, 2024 20:53:19 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Japan's national broadcaster issues evacuation warningJapan’s national broadcaster has issued an evacuation order – broadcasting warnings such as “Tsunami is coming. Please evacuate immediately,” an anchor on NHK said. “Do not stop. Do not go back”. “Evacuate!” said a banner on the broadcast channel. Tsunami waves as high as three metres were expected immediately for remote Japanese islands in the region, including Miyakojima island, Japan’s Meteorological Agency. Live TV footage from the Okinawa region’s ports, including Naha, showed vessels heading out to sea, possibly in efforts to protect their ships.
Philippines warns of high tsunami wavesThe Philippines’ seismology agency has a tsunami warning, warning people in coastal areas of several provinces to immediately evacuate to higher ground or move farther inland. It has issued the following evaluation: Based on tsunami wave models and early tide gauge records of the tsunami in the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, coastal areas in the Philippines fronting the Pacific Ocean are expected to experience high tsunami waves. It is forecasted that the first tsunami waves will arrive between 08:33 AM to 10:33 AM, 03 Apr 2024 (PST). It may not be the largest and these waves may continue for hours.
Taiwan reports people trapped in buildings - local mediaPeople are trapped in collapsed buildings in Taiwan’s city of Hualien according to local media and the local government has suspended schools and classes in the region. According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration, the epicentre of the quake was 25km southeast of Hualien. Taipei’s metro was suspended for 40 to 60 minutes for routine safety checks, although there were no initial reports of irregularities and services had resumed by 8:45am.
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Post by Webster on Apr 2, 2024 20:55:12 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Internet outages reported in TaiwanGlobal internet monitor Netblocks has said that internet outages are being registered in parts of Taiwan after the quake. In a post on X the group said: 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
Reports of damage to houses and water towers - TaiwanOur Guardian reporter Chi Hui Lin has sent this from Miaoli, one hour’s drive from Taipei: Wednesday morning’s earthquake was the strongest since the 921 quake in 1999. Aftershocks continued to occur between 8 and 9 a.m. Social media was full of earthquake posts, with friends sharing information about their homes. Tiles peeled off the exteriors of old houses in Taipei City, water towers cracked, glass shattered and items fell. Teachers on campus took their students to an open area for shelter. At 8 am the phone rang with a tsunami alert: the earthquake-induced tsunami was expected to affect the coastal areas at 9:59am.
Reports computer chip factory partially evacuatedBloomberg is reporting that the world’s largest producer of advanced chips has evacuated some factory areas. The financial publisher said the move could endanger production at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
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Post by Webster on Apr 2, 2024 20:58:59 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Apr 2, 2024 21:00:30 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Magnitude revised up - JMAIn the latest – the Japan Meteorological Agency has revised up Taiwan’s earthquake magnitude to 7.7, from 7.5, according to the Reuters news agency.
Philippines tsunami warning relates to coastal areasOur south-east Asia correspondent Rebecca Ratcliffe has more detail on the warnings in the Philippines: The tsunami warning issued by the Philippine authorities relates to people in coastal areas of the following provinces: the Batanes Group of Islands, Cagayan, Ilocos Norte and Isabela.
The Batanes island group is the northernmost province of the Philippines, and is closer to Taiwan than to the northern tip of Luzon, the Philippines’ largest and most populous island, which sits at the northern part of the archipelago. Cagayan, Ilocos Norte and Isabela are all located in the north of Luzon.
Residents in these coastal areas of these provinces have been “strongly advised” to immediately evacuate to higher grounds or move farther inland.
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Post by Webster on Apr 2, 2024 21:03:00 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Worst quake since 1999 - Taiwan central weather bureauHere is the latest from our reporter Gregor Hunter in Taipei on what Taiwan’s central weather bureau says is the country’s worse quake since 1999: Violent shaking was felt in the capital Taipei, with aftershocks continuing throughout the day. The quake struck during the morning rush hour, prompting a brief suspension of the city’s subway service, and some offices and schools said they would send staff home for the day.
Aftershocks reported in TaipeiBuildings in Taipei have continued to shake after an aftershock, according to the Reuters news agency. Meanwhile, Japan’s Meterological Agency is warning people to be vigilant for aftershocks of similar intensity for around a week.
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Post by Webster on Apr 2, 2024 21:08:20 GMT -5
(The Guardian) 87,000 in Taiwan without powerTaiwan’s electricity operator – Taipower- has said more than 87,000 people across the country are now without power, according to the Reuters news agency. Earlier we were hearing that 10,000 households were without power and it was reported that restoration operations were currently underway.
Japan tsunami alert downgraded to advisoryThe tsunami waves that had arrived by late morning were not as high as forecast, and the alert was downgraded to an advisory. But an official from Japan’s meteorological agency urged people to continue evacuating until the advisory was lifted. Public broadcaster NHK said some residents of the main Okinawa island had evacuated to a nearby US military base, while footage showed others watching the sea from the safety of high ground in the prefectural capital Naha.
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Post by Webster on Apr 2, 2024 21:09:28 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Apr 2, 2024 22:07:44 GMT -5
 A view from behind a window as debris falls from a building in New Taipei City. Photograph: Wang/Reuters |
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Post by Webster on Apr 2, 2024 22:11:01 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Pacific tsunami warning centre says threat passedThe tsunami threat from the earthquake has now passed according to the Pacific tsunami warning center. The centre’s website has a post saying “No tsunami warning, advisory, watch or threat” on the Taiwan quake.
Reports of 1 dead, 50 injured - Taiwan fire departmentWe are getting our first casualty figures coming through. The Reuters news agency is reporting that one person has died and more than 50 people are injured after the earthquake – that’s according to the Taiwan fire department.
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Post by Webster on Apr 2, 2024 22:16:22 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Our Guardian reporter Chi Hui Lin has sent us more on the aftermath from people in Hualien. The epicentre has been reported as 25km southeast of the city. -- A hotel in Hualien City told me that people in Hualien know that sometimes there will be big earthquakes, so the items in the house are fixed.
They didn’t run out immediately when the earthquake happened but waited for it to get smaller before going out to avoid falling. There was little damage in her hotel, just a few items falling down.
Another Stand Up Paddling shop in Hualien told me that the people of Hualien have experienced many earthquakes, and when this earthquake happened, they knew it was a big one, so they rushed out.
He said that many buildings in Hualien are now evacuating their residents. He was driving his car near the mountains when the earthquake happened, and there were a lot of falling rocks.
When he was talking to me, the sound of ambulances passing by was in the background.
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Post by Webster on Apr 2, 2024 22:18:03 GMT -5
 A view of a landslide after an earthquake hit, Xiulin, Taiwan. Photograph: Tutuloveeat/Tutuloveeatg/Reuters |
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