Taiwan earthquake death toll rises to 9, hundreds injured

YEREVAN, APRIL 3, ARMENPRESS. Taiwan was rocked Wednesday morning by the island’sstrongest earthquake in 25 years, a magnitude 7.4 tremor that killed at least nine people, injured more than 800 others and trapped dozens of people, The New York Times reports.

Theheaviest damagewas in Hualien County on the island’s east coast․

Officials in Taiwan warned residents to not visit their relatives' tombs, especially in the mountains, this weekend during the holiday, known as Ching Ming, meant to honor them, the report adds. There have already been 100 aftershocks and the forecast called for rain, which could make travel conditions on damaged roads more treacherous.

Crews are working to reach people trapped on blocked roads. As of 1 p.m. local time, roads were impassable due to damage and fallen rock in 19 places, according to the Ministry of Transportation. At least 77 people remain trapped.

Taiwan's official central news agency said the quake was the biggest to hit the island since 1999 when a 7.6 magnitude tremor killed around 2,400 people and destroyed or damaged 50,000 buildings in one of Taiwan's worst-recorded quakes.