Quake hits Taiwan;
Taipei hotel wrecked

No tsunami generated

Associated Press

TAIPEI -- A powerful earthquake struck Taiwan before dawn today, wrecking a 12-story hotel in Taipei, damaging buildings in the countryside and awakening millions. State radio said it was the island's strongest quake in decades.

The U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 and was centered 90 miles south-southwest of Taipei. The USGS issued tsunami warnings.

The quake wrecked the 78-room Sungshan Hotel in Taipei, collapsing the bottom three stories and setting the badly damaged top listing to one side. Officials said 25 people were sent to hospitals from the hotel.

Elsewhere on the island, more than a dozen other people were reported injured. There were no immediate reports of deaths.

Kevin Gu, a graduate student who lives near the Sungshan Hotel, said: "I heard a loud sound. Hong! Dong! I ran down here and the emergency vehicles and ambulances were arriving."

The Broadcasting Corp. of China reported that a row of houses collapsed in Chang Hua county in central Taiwan, injuring at least three people. Ten others were believed trapped in the wreckage, the state radio said.

The quake, which occurred at about 1:45 a.m. -- while most of Taiwan's 22 million people were sleeping -- knocked out electric service throughout the northern part of the island. State radio said the initial quake was followed by six aftershocks.

After the temblor, people made their way into the streets from damaged buildings, some wearing only underwear, some in nightclothes. Some appeared dazed, but others quickly recovered from the sudden awakening. A few waved from damaged buildings.

In the southwestern Chiang Kai-shek district, some people brought candles into the street. Many carried umbrellas to stay out of the rain, huddling around battery-operated radios.

Hawaii, Midway safe Officials at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the earthquake in Taipei this morning did not generate a tsunami in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands or Midway Island. The earthquake, with a recorded preliminary magnitude of 7.6, was centered 90 miles south-southwest of Taipei.