Taiwan is prone to earthquakes as it lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire” — where 90% of the world’s earthquakes take place.
Nine people died and more than 800 got injured in Taiwan after the island was hit by its biggest earthquake in at least 25 years on Wednesday (April 4) morning. While Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring agency said the quake was 7.2 magnitude, the US Geological Survey (USGS) put it at 7.4.

The epicentre of the quake was located just 18 kilometres south-southwest of Hualien County at a depth of 34.8 km, which is situated in eastern Taiwan. Multiple aftershocks were experienced, and one of them was 6.5 magnitude.

The earthquake that hit Taiwan's east was “the strongest in 25 years”, said the director of Taipei's Seismology Centre. "The earthquake is close to land and it's shallow. It's felt all over Taiwan and offshore islands... it's the strongest in 25 years since the (1999) earthquake," Wu Chien-fu told reporters, referring to a September 1999 quake with 7.6-magnitude that killed 2,400 people.

Notably, Taiwan is prone to earthquakes as it lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire” — where 90% of the world’s earthquakes take place. The island and its surrounding waters have registered about 2,000 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.0 or greater since 1980, and more than 100 earthquakes with a magnitude above 5.5, according to the USGS.