Warning of possible three-metre tsunami after 7.5 magnitude tremor and strong aftershocks rock Asian island, downing several buildings

A massive 7.5-magnitude earthquake has hit Taiwan, sparking fears of three-meter tall tsunami waves affecting Japan’s southern islands.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has issued a tsunami alert for the southern islands of the Far Eastern country following the tremor, which happened shortly before 9am Japanese local time (12am GMT, 1am UK time).

Multiple videos were shared of damage to Hualien, a city on the east coast of Taiwan close to the epicenter of the quake – with buildings downed and landslides throwing up huge clumps of dirt and dust.

Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration agency said the quake could be felt across the island – measuring 7.2 at the epicenter and around four at its weakest on the furthest reaches away from the center of the tectonic jolt.

A 30 cm tsunami reached Yonaguni Island at 9.18am Japan time, JMA said.

In several images from Hualien, a large red glass-fronted tower block was seen to have partially collapsed, keeling over towards the ground and resting at an angle as shocked onlookers watched on.

Another video of webcam in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei showed the camera being juddered by the convulsions.

A post from the JMA’s disaster preparation account on X, formerly Twitter, has warned those in the affected areas not to leave designated safe zones until given the all clear.

A translation of the tweet read: ‘As of 09:01 on the 3rd, a tsunami warning has been issued. Tsunamis strike repeatedly. Do not leave your safe area until the warning has been lifted.’

The JMA says the Okinawa and Miyajokima and Yaeyama island groupings are at risk of tsunamis up to three meters (10 feet) high.

‘Evacuate!’ said a banner on national broadcaster NHK.

‘Tsunami is coming. Please evacuate immediately,’ an anchor on NHK said. ‘Don’t stop. Don’t go back.’

It is not known if there are any casualties.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake had a magnitude of 7.4, with its epicenter 18 kilometers south of Taiwan’s Hualien City at a depth of 34.8 km.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active areas. Japan accounts for about one-fifth of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

On March 11, 2011, the northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest quake in Japan on record, and a massive tsunami. Those events triggered the world’s worst nuclear crisis since Chornobyl a quarter of a century earlier.

The country was also rocked by its deadliest quake in eight years on New Year’s Day when a 7.6 magnitude temblor struck in Ishikawa prefecture, on the western coast.

More than 230 people died in the quake that left 44,000 homes fully or partially destroyed.