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. -News for Fri. 29, Sat 30 & Sun 31 March 2002


4 Killed, 200 Injured in Taiwan Earthquake

VOA News
31 Mar 2002 13:07 UTC
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A powerful earthquake has rocked Taiwan, killing at least four people and injuring more than 200 others, mostly in the capital, Taipei.

 The quake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, struck at 0652 UTC, with its epicenter under the sea about 44 kilometers northeast of Hualien city.
 
 

AP Photo
AP
Firefighters and workers look on after a construction crane fell onto a car during a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Taipei
The tremor sent Taipei residents fleeing into the streets, as buildings swayed for about a minute. At least three buildings collapsed and two cranes fell from atop a 100-floor financial center under construction. One construction worker and one passer-by were killed. A number of people have been reported missing.

 At least six people were reportedly trapped in a building that partially collapsed in another part of the city.

 The quake sparked several fires and caused cracks in buildings and bridges across the capital. The city's mass rapid transit system was suspended for safety checks.

 The quake was felt island-wide, and as far away as Hong Kong, 900 kilometers to the west.

 A massive earthquake measuring magnitude 7.6 hit central Taiwan in September 1999, killing nearly 2,400 people and destroying tens of thousands of homes.

 Japan's Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami alert for Okinawa and other southern islands, as it routinely does when powerful tremors are detected, but later canceled the warning.
 
 

Some information for this report provided by AFP.

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