Southern Taiwan hit by 6.4-magnitude earthquake, chipmaker TSMC evacuates some factories
Fire department said a handful of people were trapped in damaged buildings in city of Tainan; earthquake shook buildings in capital Taipei
A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck a mountainous, rural area of Taiwan’s south on Tuesday near the city of Chiayi, the island’s weather administration said, with reports of minor damage.
Chipmaker TSMC said it had evacuated staff at its factories in central and southern Taiwan, and they were all safe.
The earthquake shook buildings in the capital, Taipei. The quake had a depth of 9.4km (6 miles) with its epicentre in Dapu township in Chiayi county, and hit just after midnight, the weather administration said.
There were no immediate reports of deaths from the quake, though rescuers were still assessing damage.
Taiwan’s fire department said 15 people were sent to hospital for minor injuries. Among them were six people, including one child, who were rescued from a collapsed house in Nanxi District, Tainan city. The Zhuwei bridge on a provincial highway was reported to be damaged.
The Chiayi fire department also said there were no reports of major casualties so far in the city, while an official in Dapu, who gave his family name as Chi, told Reuters power cuts were reported in some villages and some buildings were damaged.
