Deadly earthquake strikes Taiwan’s east coast
Posted February 6, 2018 12:19 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Officials say a magnitude-6.4 earthquake that struck near the coast of Taiwan has killed two hotel employees and injured 144 other people.
The Central News Agency reported that the ground floor of the Marshal Hotel, a building in Hualien district, had caved in and people were believed to be
trapped inside.
The agency also posted photos showing a road fractured in several parts.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck late Tuesday about 21 kilometres (13 miles) northeast of Hualien, on the island’s east coast. It occurred at a depth of about 9.5 kilometres.
Taiwanese media reported that a separate hotel known as the Beautiful Life Hotel is tilting.
The earthquake followed one over the weekend off the coast of Hualien, which lies along the famed “Pacific Rim of Fire” known for seismic activity from Alaska to Southeast Asia.
