7.4 magnitude quake hits Taiwan, strongest in 25 years

Taiwan is a self-ruled democracy of about 23 million people, the vast majority of whom live in the capital Taipei and the cities that dot the heavily industrialized western coast.

Taipei has around 2.5 million inhabitants while the wider New Taipei City is home to a further 4 million people. The southern port city of Kaohsiung has 2.7 million residents.

In contrast, the eastern coast — where Wednesday's quake struck — is much less populated.

The island is regularly rocked by earthquakes. 

Here's what to know about the epicenter: Hualien County has a population of about 300,000, around 100,000 of whom live in the main city of Hualien.

But many in the region live in remote coastal or mountain communities that can be hard to reach, so it might take time to understand the extent of Wednesday's quake.

A magnitude 6.2 quake hit the area in 2018, killing at least 17 people and injuring more than 300 others.

Taiwan's global role: The small island is a major economy that has an outsized impact on global business and trade, mainly because of its world-beating chips industry.

It also lies at the center of geopolitical tensions.

China's Communist Party has claimed the island as its territory, despite never having controlled it. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has ramped up economic, political and military pressure on Taiwan and vowed to one day "reunify" the island, by force if necessary.

Taiwanese people have largely shrugged off that threat. Earlier this year, voters handed the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which Beijing loathes, a historic third consecutive presidency. Incumbent president Lai Ching-te will be inaugurated next month, replacing current president Tsai Ing-wen.

At least four foreign nationals are trapped in Taiwan after the island was hit by its most powerful earthquake in 25 years on Wednesday, according to the National Fire Agency (NFA).

Two Canadian citizens are among a dozen people trapped in Taroko Gorge, a popular tourist destination in Hualien County, the epicenter of the quake.

The 12 people are awaiting rescue on the Shakadang Trail, a popular walkway along turquoise water near the entrance of the famed marble-walled canyon, the NFA said.

Two German citizens are trapped in a tunnel on the Suhua highway on the island's eastern coast, the NFA said. The highway was severely damaged in the earthquake and has been closed.

Winding along cliffs high above the Pacific Ocean, the Suhua Highway is known as one of Taiwan's most dangerous — yet also the most scenic — drives. It's the main highway connecting Hualien with the north of the island and dotted with natural attractions.

Seven people have been killed in Taiwan after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck the island's eastern coast on Wednesday morning, according to the National Fire Agency (NFA).

Another 736 people have been injured, the NFA said.

Three of the four people who died after the most powerful earthquake in 25 years hit Taiwan were hiking in Taroko Gorge, a popular tourist destination, according to the National Fire Agency (NFA).

The three people were struck by fallen rocks while hiking the Dekalun Trail in Taroko Gorge, a rugged marble-walled canyon famed for its raw natural beauty in Hualien County, the epicenter of the quake.

The fourth victim was a truck driver who was hit by fallen rocks outside a tunnel on the Suhua Highway, a major highway winding along steep cliffs of Taiwan's eastern coast that was severely damaged in the earthquake.

A section of the road outside the tunnel where the driver was killed had collapsed, according to earlier reports by Taiwan's television stations. The entire highway has been closed down following the quake.

At least 77 people are trapped across Taiwan after a powerful earthquake struck the island's eastern coast, according to the National Fire Agency (NFA).

Authorities did not elaborate on the condition of those trapped, but said that rescue operations were underway.

The 7.4 magnitude quake has killed four people and injured more than 700 others, according to NFA. Of those injured, 132 are in Hualien County, near the epicenter of the quake, the agency added.

Taiwan was struck by its strongest earthquake in 25 years on Wednesday when a 7.4 magnitude tremor struck the island's eastern coast, collapsing buildings, killing at least four people and triggering tsunami warnings across the region that were later lifted.

The tsunami warnings also prompted airlines and airports to suspend flights, which were later resumed.

The powerful tremors that rocked Taiwan on Wednesday morning have damaged 125 buildings across the island, according to the National Fire Agency (NFA).

About half of the damaged buildings are in Hualien County, near the epicenter of the earthquake, according to local officials.

Four buildings in the county had partially collapsed, Hualien County Magistrate Hsu Chen-wei said at a news conference Wednesday.

Residents from three of the buildings have been safely evacuated, while search and rescue operations continue at the nine-storey Uranus Building, which is leaning to the right after the ground floor collapsed, Hsu said.

Twenty-two people have been rescued from the Uranus Building, with efforts still underway to contact one remaining resident, according to the National Fire Agency.

Taiwan was struck by its strongest earthquake in 25 years on Wednesday when a 7.4 magnitude tremor struck the island's eastern coast, collapsing buildings, killing at least four people and prompting tsunami warnings across the region.

Here's what you need to know:

Taiwan is regularly rocked by earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire.

That's where the world’s most active volcanoes lie. It’s also where most earthquakes happen as tectonic plates push against each other, causing sudden releases of energy that result in tremors.

The “ring” stretches along a 25,000-mile (40,000-kilometer) arc from the boundary of the Pacific Plate, to smaller plates such as the Philippine Sea plate, to the Cocos and Nazca Plates that line the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

People most at risk from volcanic eruptions and earthquakes live in places that lie along the Ring of Fire, including Chile, Japan, the US west coast, and other island nations including the Solomon Islands to the western seaboard of North and South Americas.

Read more about the volatile arc.