Taiwans fire department on Wednesday said one person has died and more than 50 are injured in a powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake off the eastern coast of Taiwan.

According to the Reuters news agency, the powerful quake was felt all across the island, even in cities hundreds of kilometres away from the Hualien epicentre.

It is Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years, according to seismology officials

At least two buildings have partially collapsed in Hualien – the city closest to the epicentre – and are shown leaning at precarious angles

The earthquake hit the area at 07:58 local time on Wednesday (23:58 GMT) and the epicentre was situated about 18km (11 miles) south of Hualien

A tsunami warning had been declared for nearby Japanese islands in the southern prefecture of Okinawa, but it has since been downgraded to a “tsunami advisory”

The Philippines, which is also near Taiwan, has also declared a tsunami alert for its northern coastline

Separately, Taiwanese news outlet UDN is quoting the Central Disaster and Prevention Response Council as saying one person was killed by falling rocks. It is still unclear whether this is the same death reported by Reuters.

According to Taiwanese media outlets, police have rescued at least nine people from a partially collapsed building in Hualien and five people are still waiting for help.