People rescued from collapsed buildings in Taiwan earthquake

1. 'Very violent shaking' in Taipei

   Rupert Wingfield-Hayes

   BBC Asia correspondent, in Taipei

   I lived in Japan for 10 years where earthquakes are regular and I am used to feeling them. But this morning was one of the biggest or the biggest I've ever experienced.

   I am on a higher floor here - the eighth floor - but the building shook violently, so violently that I had to hang on to the kitchen counter to stabilise myself.

   Stuff came off shelves, flower pots were toppled, windows were opened, doors were moved.

   It was very violent shaking, even here in Taipei, well over a 100km from the epicentre in Hualien.

   There is a very large building site behind my house - and some construction equipment fell off the top of that, crashing to the street below.

   It doesn't look like anyone was injured but it could have easily killed people. It was a busy time with people going to work.

   I have talked to friends who have lived here for some time - local people and foreigners - and they say this is the biggest earthquake they can remember in at least 20 years, maybe even longer.

2. Aftershock warnings

   Multiple aftershocks were felt in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, in the hour after the initial quake.

   Wu Chien-fu, director of Taipei's Central Weather Administration's Seismology Center, told the AFP news agency that authorities are not ruling out that "there will be earthquakes with magnitude of 6.5 to 7 in three days which will be relatively close to the land".

   The Japanese Meteorological Agency has also told Japanese citizens to be vigilant for aftershocks, Reuters has reported.

3. Pictures coming out show damage

   The powerful quake was felt all across the island, even in cities hundreds of kilometres away from the Hualien epicentre.

   

   TVBSCopyright: TVBS

   A partially collapsed building in Hualien cityImage caption: A partially collapsed building in Hualien city

   

   ReutersCopyright: Reuters

   The earthquake unleashed landslides in Taiwan's mountainous regionImage caption: The earthquake unleashed landslides in Taiwan's mountainous region

   

   ReutersCopyright: Reuters

   A damaged apartment in New Taipei City - a three hour drive north of the Hualien epicentreImage caption: A damaged apartment in New Taipei City - a three hour drive north of the Hualien epicentre

4. What do we know so far?

   • There's been a powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake just off the eastern coast of Taiwan
   • It is Taiwan's strongest earthquake in 25 years, according to seismology officials
   • At least two buildings have partially collapsed in Hualien - the city closest to the epicentre - and are shown leaning at precarious angles
   • The earthquake hit the area at 07:58 local time on Wednesday (23:58 GMT) and the epicentre was situated about 18km (11 miles) south of Hualien
   • A tsunami warning had been declared for nearby Japanese islands in the southern prefecture of Okinawa, but it has since been downgraded to a "tsunami advisory"
   • The Philippines, which is also near Taiwan, has also declared a tsunami alert for its northern coastline

5. If you're just joining us

   

   Tessa Wong

   A powerful earthquake has struck off the coast of Taiwan, causing buildings to collapse in Hualien, the city closest to the epicentre. Rescuers are pulling out survivors. Earlier there were tsunami warnings issued by Taiwan as well as neighbouring Japan and the Philippines.

   Stay with us as my colleagues Fiona Nimoni, Frances Mao and I bring you more updates.