Taiwan's Strongest Earthquake in 25 Years Kills 9 People, 50 Missing
Editor
3 April 2024 21:38 WIB
In Japan, the weather agency put the quake's magnitude at 7.7, saying several small tsunami waves reached parts of the southern prefecture of Okinawa, while downgrading its tsunami warning to an advisory.
In the Philippines, seismology officials warned coastal residents in several provinces to move to higher ground.
Chinese state media said the quake was felt in the southeastern province of Fujian, while a Reuters witness said it was also felt in the commercial hub of Shanghai.
CHIP SUPPLIES
Aftershocks could still be felt in Taipei, with more than 50 recorded, weather officials said.
Most power has been restored after the quake, electricity utility Taipower said, with the island's two nuclear power stations unaffected.
Taiwan's high-speed rail operator said no damage or injuries were reported on its trains, although services would be delayed as it made inspections.
A major supplier of chips to Apple (AAPL.O) and Nvidia (NVDA.O), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330.TW), said it had evacuated some fabrication plants and safety systems were operating normally.
"To ensure the safety of personnel, some fabs were evacuated according to company procedure," the semiconductor giant said in a statement, adding later that the employees had begun to return to work.
TSMC's Taipei-listed shares ended down 1.3%, but the benchmark index (.TWII), largely brushed off the quake's impact to close down 0.6%.
The official central news agency said the quake was the biggest since one of magnitude 7.6 in 1999 that killed about 2,400 people and damaged or destroyed 50,000 buildings.
Taiwan weather officials ranked Wednesday's quake in Hualien as "Upper 6", or the second-highest level of intensity on a scale ranging from 1 to 7.
Such quakes collapse walls unless they are made of reinforced concrete blocks, while people cannot stand upright and must crawl in order to move, experts say.
REUTERS
Editor's Choice: Ministry Confirms Indonesians Condition in Taiwan, Japan Post Powerful Earthquake
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
