Deadly earthquake topples buildings in Taiwan city of Tainan

8:18:00 AM
An earthquake has toppled a number of buildings in the south Taiwanese city of Tainan, killing at least two people.
Rescue teams were trying to reach people trapped in rubble after the magnitude 6.4 quake struck early on Saturday as people were sleeping.
Reports suggest at least four buildings have come down, including a high-rise residential building. More than 120 people have been rescued.
President Ma Ying-jeou is on his way to Tainan, a city of two million people.
The quake was shallow, meaning its effects would have been amplified, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
Television pictures show rescue workers frantically trying to reach people trapped in collapsed buildings, using ladders to climb over piles of rubble.
Taiwan's official news agency said at least 23 people had been injured in the multi-storey residential building, where about 200 people were believed to be living in about 60 households.
Rescue personnel work on a damaged building after an earthquake in TainanImage copyrightReuters
Rescue personnel work on a damaged buildingImage copyrightReuters
Rescue workers carry a survivorImage copyrightAFP/Getty
Rescue workers in Taiwan after a strong earthquakeImage copyrightAP
A building badly damaged by an earthquake in TaiwanImage copyrightAP
Tainan resident Emma told BBC World News people feared further tremors.
"I felt the quake, it was terrible," she said.
Barry Knapp, a British man in Taiwan, said he was 240km (150 miles) north of Tainan but still felt the tremor.
"I was just in bed, about to fall asleep, and shaking started happening," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"It was going on for about 20 to 30 seconds and it came in waves. It was shaking and then it eased off, but then it started shaking even harder."
The earthquake struck as people were getting ready for Chinese New Year.
"It has come at a bad time," journalist Jay Chen told BBC World TV.
"Sunday is New Year's Eve. People were preparing to celebrate and now many people will be homeless."
There are also reports of power outages.
Saturday's quake was felt in the capital Taipei 300 km away and there have since been several aftershocks.
A 7.6 magnitude quake in central Taiwan in 1999 killed more than 2,300 people.
Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and often sees tremors.
A building damaged in the quakeImage copyrightReuters
Image captionThis eight-storey building was captured in the process of collapsing
A map showing the location of an earthquake in southern TaiwanImage copyrightEPA
Image captionThe earthquake was shallow, according US geographers, which would have amplified its effects
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