Taiwan rocked by strongest earthquake in 25 years، over 930 injured،9 dead

Taiwan was rocked at 7:58 a.m. local time Wednesday morning by the island's strongest earthquake in a quarter century and leveled dozens of buildings on the eastern side of the island، a magnitude 7.4 tremor that killed at least nine people، injured more than 930 others، trapped dozens of people and more than two dozen buildings collapsed as well as disrupting semiconductor production at some of the world’s leading chipmakers، according to the US Geological Survey، which pinned the epicenter near the eastern city of Hualien.

Taiwan earthquake shocks were felt as far away as Japan and China، according to Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operation Center that said it was the biggest seismic event by magnitude to hit Taiwan since 1999، when a 7.7 magnitude quake hit the center of island and killed more than 2،000 people while there have been several aftershocks، mostly clustered on the island’s east coast.

Taiwan earthquake is the strongest to shake the island in decades

Taiwan weather authorities said the earthquake was the strongest to shake the island in decades، and warned of more tremors in the days ahead after the powerful earthquake in Taiwan that damaged dozens of buildings and prompted tsunami warnings that extended to Japan and the Philippines before being lifted.

Wu Chien-fu، director of Taipei’s Central Weather Administration’s Seismology Centre stalted that Taiwan earthquake is close to land and it’s shallow but it’s felt all over Taiwan and offshore islands، in addition، Taiwan quake puts world’s most advanced chips at risk.

Taiwan is the dominant producer of the world’s most advanced semiconductors

Taiwan is of paramount importance to the global economy، as the dominant producer of the world’s most advanced semiconductors and any damage from the earthquake is being closely watched for potential effects on technology output، given the island accounts for more than half of the global market for laptops، motherboards، and network devices as well as artificial intelligence، smartphones and electric vehicles.

Its flagship firm Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.، the world’s largest contract chipmaker، said following the Taiwan earthquake that it had moved some staff out of its production centers while the company، a major supplier of chips to Apple Inc. and Nvidia Corp.، is still assessing the impact but all of its staff are safe، a spokeswoman said.

Taiwan earthquake leveled buildings، damaged houses and roads

Taiwan earthquake is the worst in 25 years leveled buildings، damaged houses and roads following an earthquake in New Taipei City on today، April 3 that United Microelectronics Corp. said it evacuated some facilities in Hsinchu and Tainan، cities on the western side of Taiwan and the company halted operations of some chipmaking machines، and added that they are working to get those machines online again while Acer Inc. Chairman and CEO Jason Chen said there was no material impact on operations.

Market reaction to the Taiwan earthquake was fairly muted Wednesday as the benchmark Taiex Index fell as much as 1% before paring declines، with losses tracking those of the broader MSCI Asia Pacific Index and shares in TSMC and UMC dropped around 1% or more while the local dollar was stable، trading flat against the greenback.

Taiwan earthquake hit just ahead of the start of a four-day holiday

The Taiwan earthquake hit just ahead of the start of a four-day holiday in Taiwan observing Qingming، during which families visit the tombs of their ancestors and thousands of people normally travel to their hometowns over the period.

Most of the fallout by the Taiwan earthquake appeared to be concentrated in or near Hualien، a county home to some 300 thousand people roughly 200 kilometers southeast of the capital Taipei.

The main highway from Hualien to Yilan was disrupted

The main highway from Hualien to Yilan، a county about halfway to Taipei، was disrupted، the Ministry of Agriculture said، adding that it has begun offering aid to farmers due to the anticipated spike in shipment costs.

The technological expertise that turned Taiwan into a semiconductor powerhouse appears to have kept damage and casualties relatively low from its worst earthquake in a quarter of a century، according to an academic who worked on the island’s disaster response.

Taiwan earthquake led to the collapse of at least 26 buildings

The 7.4-magnitude earthquake which hit Taiwan، led to the collapse of at least 26 buildings، while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.، the world’s largest maker of advanced chips for customers like Apple Inc. and Nvidia Corp.، halted some chipmaking machinery and evacuated staff while local rival United Microelectronics Corp. also stopped machinery at some plants and evacuated certain facilities at its hubs of Hsinchu and Tainan.

Footage from local broadcaster TVBS showed partially collapsed buildings in Hualien City. Taiwan’s official Central News Agency reported that two houses had tilted and people were trapped in the area as local authorities also announced plans to shut down offices and schools Wednesday.

Aftershocks of a magnitude greater than 6 are expected in the following weeks

Nuclear power plant operations remained normal and power distribution has been stabilized، according to the island’s power provider and the Civil Aviation Administration said no flights were impacted.

Aftershocks of a magnitude greater than 6 are expected in the following weeks، according to Ma Kuo-fong، distinguished research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Earth Sciences in Taiwan who indicated that the impact of those shocks is expected to be “moderate” compared to the main event.

Taiwan earthquake prompted fears of surging waves in Taiwan، China and Japan

The initial Taiwan earthquake prompted fears of surging waves in Taiwan and parts of China and Japan as residents in Japan’s southwestern Okinawa prefecture were urged to evacuate from an expected tsunami as high as 3 meters، according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Tsunami warnings of Taiwan earthquake were eventually wound back، with the one in Okinawa downgraded to an advisory but disruptions were still felt in the area، though، with Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways redirecting flights bound for Okinawa while ANA said it canceled 13 flights affecting more than 2،600 passengers.

Taiwan earthquake was felt in parts of China

The earthquake was felt in parts of China، including Shanghai and Guangdong، and the world’s second-largest economy shut down some railway tracks in Fujian and Jiangxi provinces، state broadcaster China Central Television reported.

The Chinese government office handling matters related to Taiwan also said it was highly concerned about the earthquake and was willing to offer disaster relief assistance as Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory، though the island governs itself as a democracy that contention over its status is a major geopolitical flashpoint between China and the US.