Strong quake strikes eastern Taiwan, Japan issues tsunami alert

A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan’s southeastern coast on Sunday, the US Geological Survey said, prompting Japan to issue a tsunami warning.

The quake hit at 2:44 pm (0644 GMT) about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the city of Taitung at a depth of 10 kilometres, the USGS said.

A 6.6 magnitude quake hit the same region on Saturday and there have been multiple tremors since with Sunday’s the strongest by far. Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami advisory to remote islands near Taiwan.

Waves as high as one metre were expected to arrive around 4 pm (0700 GMT), it added. Taiwan is regularly hit by earthquakes as the island lies near the junction of two tectonic plates.