Strong earthquake hits Taiwan; 12 people injured

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Taiwan on Thursday, terrifying residents, disrupting communications and triggering at least one large fire. Twelve people were injured, the National Fire Agency said.

A woman recovers a wall clock from the damage caused by a strong earthquake that jolted the island, Thursday, March 4, 2010, in the southern area of Kaohsiung county, Taiwan. A powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Taiwan on Thursday morning, causing widespread damage, and disrupting communications around the island

No tsunami alert was issued. The quake was centered in the same mountainous region of rural Kaohsiung county that endured the brunt of the damage from Typhoon Morakot, a devastating storm that killed about 700 people last August.

Taiwanese actor Chu Chung-heng said he and other passengers were close to panic when the high-speed train on which they were traveling was dislodged from its track by the quake.

Damage from an early morning earthquake is seen at a local temple, Thursday, March 4, 2010, in the southern area of Kaohsiung county, Taiwan. The powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Taiwan on Thursday morning, causing widespread damage, and disrupting communications around the island

“Many people in my car were screaming,” he said. “I was so scared that I couldn’t make a sound. The train shook very hard and I thought it was going to overturn.”

Rail service in southern and central Taiwan was suspended, as was the state-of-the-art subway system in Kaohsiung city, Taiwan’s second largest with a population of 1.5 million. Kaohsiung is about 250 miles (400 kilometers) south of Taipei.

Evacuated students sit outside in their playground protecting their heads after a strong earthquake shook the island, Thursday, March 4, 2010, in the southern area Chaiyi county, Taiwan. A powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Taiwan on Thursday morning, causing widespread damage, and disrupting communications around the island.

In nearby Tainan, a fire broke out in a textile factory shortly after the quake hit, sending huge plumes of black smoke billowing into the air. Power outages struck Taipei and at least one county to the south, and telephone service in many parts of Taiwan was spotty.

Kuo Kai-wen, director of the Central Weather Bureau’s Seismology Center, said the quake was not geologically related to the massive temblor that hit Chile last Saturday, but its intensity was unusual for the area.

Firemen battle a blaze at a textile factory that started shortly after a strong earthquake jolted the island, Thursday, March 4, 2010, in the southern area of Tainan, Taiwan. A powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Taiwan on Thursday morning, causing widespread damage, and disrupting communications around the island

“This is the biggest quake to hit this region in more than a century,” he said.

The quake’s epicenter was near the town of Jiashian, especially hard hit by last year’s typhoon. A Kaohsiung county official told CTI TV news that some temporary housing built for typhoon survivors collapsed.

The Ministry of Defense said troops were dispatched to Jiashian to report on the extent of the damage.

In nearby Liugui an unidentified high school student described the quake as terrifying. “Everyone was running out of the classroom, and some people fell in the rush,” she told ETTV.

All of the 12 injuries were relatively minor, the fire agency said.

A spokesman for President Ma Ying-jeou said authorities had been instructed to follow the quake situation closely and take steps to mitigate damage and dislocation. Ma was widely criticized for his government’s slow response to last year’s typhoon.

The presidential office said he planned to visit Tainan on Thursday afternoon.

Earthquakes frequently rattle Taiwan but most are minor and cause little or no damage.

Plumes of dust rise from landslides caused by a strong earthquake, Thursday, March 4, 2010, in the southern area of Kaohsiung county, Taiwan. A powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Taiwan on Thursday morning, causing widespread damage, and disrupting communications around the island.

However, a 7.6-magnitude temblor in central Taiwan in 1999 killed more than 2,300 people. In 2006 a 6.7-magnitude quake south of Kaohsiung severed undersea cables and disrupted telephone and Internet service for millions throughout Asia.

-Associated Press

Strong earthquake hits Taiwan; injuries reported

Damage from an early morning earthquake is seen in a home on Thursday in Taiwan

A powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Taiwan on Thursday, causing widespread damage and disrupting communications around the island. Local news reports said several people were injured.

The quake was centred in the county of Kaohsiung, and struck at a depth of about 3.1 miles (5 kilometres). Kaohsiung is about 249 miles (400 kilometres) south of the capital Taipei.

No tsunami alert was issued.

Kuo Kai-wen, director of the Central Weather Bureau’s Seismology Centre, said the Taiwan quake was not geologically related to the temblor that hit Chile over the weekend, killing more than 800 people.

In the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan, a fire broke out in a textile factory shortly after Thursday’s quake struck, sending huge plumes of black smoke billowing into the air. At least one train in southern Taiwan shifted slightly off its tracks, and authorities suspended service throughout the region. Subway service in the city of Kaohsiung was temporarily disrupted.

Power outages hit Taipei and at least one county to the south, and telephone service in some parts of Taiwan was spotty.

Buildings swayed in the capital when the quake struck.

The quake’s epicentre was near the town of Jiashian, in the same area where a devastating typhoon struck last August. A Kaohsiung county official told CTI TV news that some temporary housing in the town collapsed as a result of the quake.

The Ministry of Defence said troops were dispatched to Jiashian to report on damage.

CTI reported one person was moderately injured by falling debris in Kaohsiung, and one woman was hospitalized after a wall collapsed on her scooter in the southern city of Chiayi. Also in Chiayi, one person was hurt by a falling tree, government-owned Central News Agency said.

A spokesman for Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said authorities had been instructed to follow the quake situation closely and take steps to mitigate damage and dislocation.

Earthquakes frequently rattle Taiwan but most are minor and cause little or no damage.

However, a 7.6-magnitude temblor in central Taiwan in 1999 killed more than 2,300 people. In 2006 a 6.7-magnitude quake south of Kaohsiung severed undersea cables and disrupted telephone and Internet service to millions throughout Asia.