A powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake has toppled buildings in the Taiwanese city of Hualien, media reports say. The tremor struck at 23:50 (15:50 GMT) about 20km (12 miles) off the island's east coast. Emergency services are working to free people who are trapped in a hotel that has partially collapsed, the reports say.
The island of Taiwan sits near a junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes. Many casualties are feared in Taiwan after a shallow 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck causing numerous buildings to collapse and trapping many people in the rubble, Taiwanese media and the authorities said.
Many residents fled to the streets of Hualien county, the epicentre of the quake, in panic as buildings including a hotel buckled under the shock, Taiwanese media reported. Some roads were also damaged.
Rockfall, blackouts, gas leaks were also reported elsewhere. Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes. The island’s worst tremor in recent decades was a 7.6-magnitude quake in September 1999 that killed around 2,400 people.
