The Ministry of Natural Resources issued a second-highest level orange tsunami alert on Wednesday morning following a strong 7.3-magnitude earthquake.

The ministry's tsunami warning center warned of potential local tsunamis near the epicenter close to Hualien on the east coast of China's Taiwan. These localized waves could cause significant damage in affected coastal areas.

The earthquake struck at 7:58 am at a depth of approximately 12 kilometers. The China Earthquake Networks Center located the epicenter at 23.81 degrees north latitude and 121.74 degrees east longitude.