Taiwan’s deadliest earthquake in recent history hit near the island’s west coast in 1935, killing more than 3,200 people, according to the Central Weather Administration. The USGS says the Hsinchu Taichung earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1 and was one of the world’s deadliest. More than 12,000 people were injured, and tens of thousands of homes destroyed.
Officials said Wednesday’s quake was the strongest since 1999, when a 7.6-magnitude tremor struck central Taiwan, killing more than 2,400 people. More than 100,000 houses were damaged or destroyed in that earthquake, one of the most catastrophic of the island’s history, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration.
A 6.4-magnitude earthquake in southern Taiwan brought down a 17-story building in the city of Tainan in 2016, killing at least 116 people. The epicenter was in Taiwan’s central mountain range, and the quake hit Tainan hardest, cutting off water to many people at the time and ripping a chasm in the ground.