Taipei, Apr 3 (AP) A powerful earthquake struck off Taiwan early Wednesday, rocking the entire island and collapsing buildings. Japan issued a tsunami alert for the southern Japanese island group of Okinawa.

Japan's meteorological agency forecast a tsunami of up to 3 metres (9.8 feet).

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Taiwan's earthquake monitoring agency gave the magnitude as 7.2 while the US Geological Survey put it at 7.5.

Television showed buildings in the eastern city of Hualien shaken off their foundations.

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The quake came at 7:58 am and could be felt in the capital Taipei. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)