The bodies of 7 people have been recovered so far from various areas, including Hualien city in Taiwan, which was devastated by the 7.4 magnitude earthquake. Besides, at least 100 buildings collapsed across the island and at least 77 people were trapped under the rubble of these buildings.

The earthquake occurred at 7:58 local time on Wednesday. In addition to Taiwan, tremors were also felt in China, the Philippines and Japan. In an immediate statement, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, due to this huge earthquake, there is a danger of tsunami in Taiwan and its three neighboring countries. During this time the height of sea waves can exceed 3 meters (9 feet).

According to the US Geological Survey (ESGS), the epicenter of the earthquake was 18 km south of the city of Hualien, Taiwan, and the origin of the tremor was 15.5 km below the surface. The USGS reported at least nine aftershocks in the minutes after 7:58 p.m.

Taiwan was shaken by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake
Hualien is a remote city surrounded by mountains. The earthquake caused massive landslides in various areas of the hilly areas of the city. Tremors of the earthquake were also felt in the capital, Taipei. Various video footages circulating on social media showed buildings in Taipei shaking terribly.

At least 100 buildings collapsed across Taiwan in the earthquake, officials from the disaster management agency of the autonomous island said. Half of these 100 buildings are from Hualien City. Within a short time after the disaster, the disaster response department personnel started the rescue operation.

Director of the Taipei Seismology Center, Taiwan's seismological monitoring and research organization, Wu Shien Fu told the BBC, "This is the biggest earthquake that has occurred in Taiwan in the last 25 years.

Earlier in September 1999, an earthquake of magnitude 7.6 occurred in Taiwan. That earthquake killed 2,400 people and destroyed at least 5,000 buildings.