Strong 7.5- earthquake hits near Taiwan, Japan issues tsunami alert

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 hit Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, on Wednesday morning, the Taiwan central weather administration said.A tsunami warning — meaning waves of up to 3 meters are possible — was issued for Okinawa and including Miyakojima island in Japan on Wednesday morning after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Taiwan.Officials urged those in affected areas to evacuate to higher ground immediately.

#WATCH | An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 hit Taipei, the capital of Taiwan.

Visuals from Beibin Street, Hualien City, Hualien County, eastern Taiwan.

(Source: Focus Taiwan) pic.twitter.com/G8CaqLIgXf

— ANI (@ANI) April 3, 2024

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake had a magnitude of 7.4, with its epicentre 18km south of Taiwan's Hualien City at a depth of 34.8km.The strong quake knocked out power in several parts of the city, according to a Reuters witness.

Notable quake, preliminary info: M 6.5 - 11 km NE of Hualien City, Taiwan https://t.co/7CosltHZBa

— USGS Earthquakes (@USGS_Quakes) April 3, 2024

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. Japan accounts for about one-fifth of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.On Mar 11, 2011, the northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest quake in Japan on record, and a massive tsunami. Those events triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl a quarter of a century earlier.