A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck southern Taiwan early morning February 6, demolishing buildings in Tainan City and trapping dozens in the rubble.

China Post reports, the epicenter of the earthquake was located in Meinong District of Kaohsiung City. It was a shallow earthquake, which means it occurred close to land surface. This type of earthquake is generally more destructive.

Though the epicenter was located in Kaohsiung, experts say Tainan saw worse conditions because of site effects and moving direction of the earthquake waves. Tainan also has more plains and softer soil, which led to longer earthquake duration.

Due to extensive damages on tracks north of Tainan, Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) has suspended service south of Taichung for February 6. Regarding this, Taiwan Railways Administration will increase the number of trains traveling south. The railways administration has reported no damaged tracks.

As of 5 am on February 6, 120 thousand households in southern Taiwan were experiencing blackouts. Latest reports from the Emergency Management Information Cloud also show a total of seven casualties and 358 injured in Tainan.

Sources:
UDN
Apple Daily
CNA
“Tremor rattles southern Taiwan, at least 3 dead, dozens injured" (The China Post)
“Taiwan struck by magnitude 6.4 earthquake, trapping dozens in rubble" (The Guardian)