A powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck near Taiwan’s Yilan coast late Thursday night, sending strong tremors across Taipei, Banqiao, and surrounding regions. Residents reported long-lasting shaking and violent swaying of buildings, forcing people to rush outdoors in fear. br br According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), the quake measured 6.7 in magnitude, occurred at a depth of 55 kilometres, and was located around 40 km north-northwest of Yilan. The tremor struck at 15:05:57 UTC (23:05 local time).