Misleading: These images do not show areas of Fujian province after Hualien earthquake
A 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Taiwan’s Hualien city on April 3, killing at least 16 people and injuring 1,155. Within hours after the news broke, misleading information and claims began circulating online.
Some posts on X said the earthquake caused far more casualties across the Taiwan Strait in mainland China, with a claim that it killed more than 170 residents in Fuzhou, the capital city of Fujian province located on the southeastern coast of China facing Taiwan across the South China Sea.
A photograph showing collapsed houses was used in all of these posts, with an overlaying text in Chinese that reads, “台灣突發大地震 福州損失更加慘重 [Sudden big earthquake in Taiwan, Fuzhou suffers even more damage].”
One of the popular posts, which garnered 196 comments, 182 reposts and 501 likes, claimed the earthquake caused “more than 190 deaths and 4,270 injuries in the Mainland,” out of which “170 deaths and 4,110 injuries” were recorded “in the Fuzhou area.”
Other posts on X also made similar claims with the same picture and figures.
Another post on X featured a different photograph that purportedly shows a columbarium in Fuijan devastated by the earthquake.
However, Annie Lab found all of these claims to be misleading. While tremors were felt in the Fujian province, according to the Fujian Earthquake Administration, the damage and casualties were not as high as the claims suggest.
In fact, local news outlet Fujian Southeast Net said there was no report of casualties in the province on April 4, the day after the quake, even in major coastal cities like Quanzhou and Zhangzhou.
Meanwhile, Fuzhou Evening News said a crack between a highrise footbridge and the connecting building was discovered in Taijiang District after the earthquake.
Eastern and southern regions were also affected. Some train services were canceled or delayed in Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi and Zhejiang, as well as Shanghai, according to the South China Morning Post.
The Southeast Net quoted a spokesperson from the Fujian Earthquake Agency saying that the maximum intensity of the quake felt in Fujian’s coastal areas was level 4 on China’s seismic intensity scale, which should not cause significant damage.
The level 4 earthquake could result in windows and doors rattling. Suspended objects such as fans and lamps would swing visibly. It would not be strong enough to develop cracks in the walls.
We also found that the photo of collapsed houses was taken during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. It was taken on March 14, 2011, in Japan’s Miyagi prefecture, according to the Getty Images.
The columbarium photo showing broken urns and scattered ashes all over the floor was not taken in Fujian but inside Ciyunshan temple in Ji-an Township, Hualien, Taiwan.
According to the official announcement of the Ji-an government, the tremor seriously damaged the columbarium and many urns fell to the ground.
A local politician in Hualien uploaded a series of photos of the columbarium on his personal Facebook page that are identical to the image shared in the misleading post.
