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Here's the latest on the Taiwan earthquake:
The initial effects of the earthquake did not seem as large, but the true impact has emerged after some time.
Nine people are dead and over 1,000 others are injured after the quake struck at around 8:00 am on Wednesday morning, measuring at a magnitude of 7.4. This makes it the strongest quake to hit Taiwan in 25 years, all the way back to the 1999 Jiji earthquake that killed 2,415 people. It struck about 11 miles south of Hualien City, the largest city on Taiwan's eastern seaboard with a population of over 100,000 people. Tsunami warnings were sent out across Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines, but those have all been canceled after waves of up to 10 feet struck their respective areas earlier yesterday.
Numerous aftershocks were reported afterwards, most of which were above magnitude 4.0, and the strongest was magnitude 6.5. They are also believed to have caused significant shaking and damage, and more are expected soon. Seismologists are anticipating severe aftershocks of strong magnitudes in the coming days-- up to 6.5 or 7.0 on the Richter scale.
So far, around 100 buildings have collapsed, according to officials, and some people are still trapped inside. Search-and-rescue crews have leaped into action around the country to save the trapped citizens before it is too late. The worst of the damage was in Hualien, where one multi-floor building was even left precariously teetering over an adjacent roadway. 71 people are also trapped inside two mines within the Hualien area, according to the National Fire Agency of Taiwan. Around 75 people were trapped inside multiple tunnels on highways across Taiwan's eastern coast, but they have all been rescued and are safe and sound. Overall, about 14,000 homes are without water, and another 1,000 are still experiencing power outages.
However, despite the damage and continuous aftershocks, everything is mostly operating normally. Buildings remain functioning well despite slight structural damage, such as falling roof tiles or cracked walls, and power outages. Also, trains and subways continue to stay moving after a brief shutdown in the moments after the quake, and for the most part, the school and workplace environment has not changed across most of the country. This is because of their preparedness for these events. Most of Taiwan and Japan are very prepared for earthquakes, as they sit right on a tectonic plate fault line known as the Ring of Fire. This ring goes around the Pacific Ocean, and travels around the Pacific, Philippine, Cocos, and Nazca Plates. It is where most of the world's volcanoes are located, and this region also experiences regular earthquakes. Due to this, both Japan and Taiwan have quake-proof buildings and infrastructure, limiting the damage done by these sorts of earthquakes.
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