Taiwan faces most devastating earthquake in two decades

In the early hours of this Wednesday, Taiwan was shaken by a 7.4 magnitude earthquake, the strongest to hit the island in the last 25 years.

The natural disaster has left a preliminary toll of at least seven dead and more than 700 injured, also causing building collapses, power outages and landslides on the island.

Dozens of people are trapped under rubble near the epicenter. At the beginning of the earthquake, tsunami warnings were issued for southern Japan and the Philippines, but they were later lifted.

The earthquake, which was followed by at least 76 aftershocks, struck shortly before 8:00 a.m. (local time) off the island's east coast, 138 kilometers from the capital, Taipei, and just 25 kilometers south of Hualien, a tourist area where around 100,000 people live.

Three hikers were killed by a rockfall in Taroko National Park in Hualien, and another 40 - most of them tourists - were injured in the same area.

A truck driver died when his vehicle was crushed by rocks near a tunnel.

Authorities have reported that in Hualien they managed to rescue 22 people from an eight-story building that collapsed after the tremors, but residents are still trapped.

The earthquake, which occurred at a depth of 15.5 kilometers, has hit hard a mountainous region that has traditionally been isolated from the rest of the island and is famous for being the home of several indigenous tribes. The army is working with rescuers to reach the most affected areas.

Although infrastructure and access to Hualien have improved greatly in recent decades, there are still many remote and populated parts that are difficult to access, making rescue efforts difficult.

Several roads in the Hualien Mountains and the center of the island were closed to traffic.

The earthquake temporarily left more than 300,000 homes without power, but power was restored by mid-morning.

In Taipei the subway was suspended and students were evacuated from schools.

The president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, asked the military to reinforce rescue missions to support the teams that have been working all day in Hualien and other parts of the island.

China, which considers the self-governed island of Taiwan as part of its territory, has said it is closely monitoring developments and has offered disaster assistance.

Taiwan has not suffered a strong earthquake since 1999, when a powerful earthquake left 2,400 dead and 50,000 buildings damaged.

Given the frequency of earthquakes in Taiwan, which lies on a tectonic boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate, local authorities have extensive emergency measures for natural disasters.