Seven individuals tragically perished as a powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan on April 3. Reports from Taiwan`s state media, cited by Reuters, highlight this as the most intense earthquake witnessed in the past 25 years. Sana Hashmi, a Fellow at the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation, shared her firsthand experience of the quake`s devastation in an exclusive interview with ANI. She provided insights into the current situation in Taiwan post-earthquake and elaborated on the responses from both Indian authorities in Taiwan and the Indian community. The Government of Taiwan has confirmed four fatalities and reported 711 injuries as a result of the disaster.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 jolted Taiwan’s eastern coasts on April 03. The 7.2 magnitude earthquake knocked out power services in parts of Taiwan. It also sparked tsunami warnings for the southern part of Japan and the Philippines. Due to the quake, metro systems in Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung were suspended. Several buildings collapsed near the eastern county of Hualien, near the epicenter. As per Taiwan’s weather forecast agency, quake hit at a depth of 15.5 km off the eastern coast of Taiwan. Quoting Taiwan’s state media, Reuters reported that it was the strongest quake to hit the island in 25 years. Meanwhile, Japan issued an evacuation advisory for the coastal areas of the southern prefecture of Okinawa. Tsunami waves of up to 3 meters were expected to reach large areas of Japan`s southwestern coast.