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The United States affirmed that it “stands ready to provide any necessary assistance to Taiwan earthquake victims.
The earthquake damaged dozens of buildings, killed at least nine people and more than 1000 injured, on Wednesday.
“We are monitoring reports of the earthquake impacting Taiwan and continue to monitor its potential impact on Japan,” said the National Security Council spokeswoman, Adrienne Watson.
AFP reported that dozens of people were believed safe but unreachable in areas cut off by massive landslides triggered by the quake – many in tunnels that cut through the mountains that bisect the island from North to South.
Officials said the quake was the strongest to shake the island in decades, and warned of more tremors in the days ahead,
The director of Taipei’s Central Weather Administration’s Seismology Centre, Wu Chien-fu, said the quake was the strongest since a 7.6-magnitude strike in September 1999, killing around 2,400 people in the deadliest natural disaster in the island’s history.
