Strong Taiwan earthquake kills 9, injures hundreds

What happened

At least nine people were killed and hundreds injured Wednesday when a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan. It was the country's strongest temblor since a magnitude 7.6 earthquake left nearly 2,500 dead in 1999.

Who said what

The military is working with local governments to "ensure the safety of the lives and property," Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said. "I've grown accustomed to" the frequent earthquakes, Taipei resident Hsien-hsuen Keng said to The Associated Press. "But today was the first time I was scared to tears."

The commentary

The earthquake damaged buildings, paused semiconductor manufacturing and disrupted rush hour, but people's "initial panic faded quickly," AP said. The urban search-and-rescue team Taiwan established after the 1999 quake is "very sharp," disaster response expert Steve Glassey said to The New York Times. "The skill sets, the capabilities, the equipment, the training is second to none."

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What next?

"There was supposed to be an alert," but "only some people received it," so "people are trying to figure out what the heck happened with this emergency system," NPR's Taipei correspondent Emily Feng said to the BBC.