1 Dead, Over 50 Injured As 7.5 Magnitude Earthquake Jolts Taiwan. Japan Issues Tsunami Warning

A 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit near the coast of Taiwan on Wednesday prompting tsunami warning by Taipei and Japan for its southern islands.

At least one person was reported dead while over 50 were injured after a strong earthquake of magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale hit off the coast of Taiwan, reported Reuters. The quake hit the island nation before 9 am Japanese local time on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, reported news agency AFP. The earthquake prompted a tsunami warning for southern Japanese islands with waves expected to be as high as three metres, or 9.8 feet, likely to hit the island of Miyakojima, the AFP report added. 

According to the Japan Times, a tsunami warning was issued for Okinawa also and the officials urged those in affected areas to evacuate to higher ground immediately. 

A similar tsunami warning was issued by Taiwan as well where television stations ran footage of buildings in the eastern city of Hualien shaking off their foundations, according to an Associated Press report, adding that the tremors were felt in the capital Taipei also. 

The earthquake monitoring agency of Taiwan put the magnitude of the quake at 7.2 while the U.S. Geological Survey gave it 7.5 on the Richter scale. 

The quake could be felt as far as Shanghai, reported Reuters quoting a witness. People in Fuzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou and Ningde in China's Fujian province also felt the tremors, as per Chinese state media.

As per the Taiwan central weather administration, the epicentre of the earthquake was located just off the coast of the eastern county of Hualien, in waters off the eastern coastline of Taiwan Island. 

A warning was also issued by the Philippines Seismology Agency for residents in coastal areas of several provinces, urging them to evacuate to higher ground, the Reuters report added. Hours later, the warning was cancelled.  

The Taiwanese government has so far not received any reports of damage at the time of writing this report and the Mass Rapid Transit in Taipei also resumed soon after. The Southern Taiwan Science Park, which hosts semiconductor giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's plant also said that the companies were operating without impact, as per the Reuters report. 

The central news agency of Taiwan said the quake was the biggest to hit the island since 1999 when a 7.6 magnitude tremor killed around 2,400 people.