6.8 Earthquake In Taiwan Shakes Things Up [Video]


An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 on the Richter scale struck the island nation of Taiwan this past Sunday, June 2.

Reports so far have placed the number of fatalities at four. At least 19 individuals have been reported to have experienced serious injury, and an untold number of possible injuries have been reported in the unincorporated rural areas. One victim was reported to be struck fatally by falling rocks while mountain climbing as the quake began. Another fatality occurred as an individual was buried under a major landslide in a nearby area.

According to CNN, though the epicenter of the 6.8 earthquake was in the southern, sparsely populated rural region of Taiwan’s Nantou county, the tremors could be felt all over the nation.

Taiwan’s capitol city, Taipei, saw panicked crowds of shoppers fleeing multi-story department stores into the streets. For several minutes, major office buildings could be seen to shake and store shelves spilling their goods. The quake was felt even in Hong Kong, located over 430 miles (700 kilometers) from the epicenter.

The full extent of the damage is still being assessed by officials as at least four helicopters have been launched to survey and locate the worst of the destruction.

In late 1999, Nantou county experienced a 7.6 magnitude earthquake, which claimed nearly 2,400 lives and ranks among Taiwan’s worst natural disasters in recent history.

The video below features various clips of the Taiwan earthquake, footage taken of the panic in Taipei as well as the massive rock slides in the rural area of Nantou count, caught on camera.

So far, experts monitoring the Taiwan earthquake do not see any major threat of tsunamis in the region. Officials also do not believe there will be any significant aftershocks.

[Image via ShutterStock]

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