As reported by the Nova Agency, 145 people are still missing after the 6,4 magnitude earthquake that struck last night near the Taiwanese tourist city of Hualien. The earthquake, which struck the locality to the east of the island just before midnight yesterday, caused the collapse of several buildings; at the moment there are four confirmed victims, and at least 225 wounded. Most of the missing are probably trapped in the ruins of buildings that collapsed due to the earthquake: among them also a military hospital. The epicenter of the earthquake was located 22 kilometers northeast of the coast. The government has already warned of possible aftershocks of magnitude 5 in the coming days. Among the injured are Japanese, Chinese and Czech citizens. Hualien is a city of about 100 inhabitants; the earthquake uprooted roads, deprived about 40 homes of running water and 1.900 of electricity. The president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, went to the disaster site this morning. "The president has asked the cabinet and all ministers to immediately start a 'disaster mechanism' and work as quickly as possible on the rescue operations," reads a note from the presidency. Taiwan lies at the point of contact between two tectonic plates, and is vulnerable to earthquakes. A 6,1 magnitude earthquake was recorded off the coast of the island on Sunday. Over 100 people died in an earthquake that hit the south of the island in 2016, while in 1999 a similar disaster claimed over 2 lives.
