The shallow 6.4-magnitude quake late Tuesday night caused at least four buildings in worst-hit Hualien county to cave in and tilt dangerously, killing two people.
Video footage and photos showed several midsized buildings leaning at sharp angles, their lowest floors crushed into mangled heaps of concrete, shattered glass, bent iron beams and other debris.
Firefighters could be seen climbing ladders hoisted against windows as they sought to reach residents inside apartments.
Rescuers are seen entering a building that collapsed onto its side from an early morning 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan. Rescue workers are searching for any survivors trapped inside the building.
The quake injured 219 people, two dozen of them critically, in Hualien county, the National Fire Agency said. The force of the tremor buckled roads and disrupted electricity and water supplies to thousands of households.
The agency said most of the 173 people who could not be reached might be in the Yunmen Cuiti building, a 12-story apartment building, though it said it did not immediately have an estimate of how many were trapped.
A hotel employee died when the ground floor caved in at the Marshal Hotel, and another person died in a residential building.
The quake caused widespread damage in Hualien, a city of 100,000 people
At first it wasn't that big we get this sort of thing all the time and it's really nothing. But then it got really terrifying. It was really scary.
Other buildings shifted on their foundations due to the magnitude-6.4 quake late Tuesday and rescuers used ladders, ropes and cranes to get residents to safety.
Taiwanese media reported that a separate hotel known as the Beautiful Life Hotel was tilting. Taiwan's Central News Agency also posted photos showing a road fractured in several parts.
Bridges and some highways were closed pending inspections after buckling due to the force of the quake.
With aftershocks continuing through the night, residents were being directed to shelters, including a newly built baseball stadium, where beds and hot food were provided.
Speaking from a crisis centre in Taipei, Cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung said rail links appeared to be unaffected and the runway of Hualien airport was intact.
We're putting a priority on Hualien people being able to return home to check on their loved ones, Hsu said.
Schools and offices in Hualien County were to be closed Wednesday, said county government.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude-6.4 quake struck just before midnight Tuesday about 21 kilometres northeast of Hualien at a relatively shallow depth of about 10.6km.
Taiwan has frequent earthquakes due to its position along the Ring of Fire, the seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur.
Exactly two years earlier, a magnitude-6.4 quake collapsed an apartment complex in southern Taiwan, causing the deaths of 115 people.
Five people involved in the construction of the complex were later found guilty of negligence and given prison sentences.
A magnitude-7.6 quake in central Taiwan killed more than 2,300 people in 1999.
The agency said most of the 173 people who could not be reached might be in the Yunmen Cuiti building, a 12-storey apartment building, though it said it did not immediately have an estimate of how many were trapped.
A hotel employee died when the ground floor caved in at the Marshal Hotel, and another person died in a residential building, the agency reported.
A maintenance worker who was rescued after being trapped in the hotel's basement said the force of the earthquake was unusual.
Other buildings shifted on their foundations due to the magnitude-6.4 quake late Tuesday and rescuers used ladders, ropes and cranes to get residents to safety.
Taiwanese media reported that a separate hotel known as the Beautiful Life Hotel was tilting. Taiwan's Central News Agency also posted photos showing a road fractured in several parts.
Bridges and some highways were closed pending inspections after buckling due to the force of the quake.
With aftershocks continuing through the night, residents were being directed to shelters, including a newly built baseball stadium, where beds and hot food were provided.
Speaking from a crisis centre in Taipei, Cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung said rail links appeared to be unaffected and the runway of Hualien airport was intact.
We're putting a priority on Hualien people being able to return home to check on their loved ones, Hsu said.
Schools and offices in Hualien County were to be closed Wednesday, the official Central News Agency said, citing the county government.
The US Geological Survey said the magnitude-6.4 quake struck just before midnight Tuesday about 21 kilometers (13 miles) northeast of Hualien at a relatively shallow depth of about 10.6 kilometers (6.6 miles).
Taiwan has frequent earthquakes due to its position along the Ring of Fire, the seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur.
Exactly two years earlier, a magnitude-6.4 quake collapsed an apartment complex in southern Taiwan, causing the deaths of 115 people.
Five people involved in the construction of the complex were later found guilty of negligence and given prison sentences.
A magnitude-7.6 quake in central Taiwan killed more than 2,300 people in 1999.
Kiwi Emily Clarke and two of her friends were staying near a beach just out of Hualien when the quake struck.
As soon as the quake struck, Clarke and her friends jumped out of their beds and ran outside straight to the hills.
Straightaway we saw the roads with all the cracks she narrated.
Being close to the beach they were worried about a tsunami, but they did not hear any siren.
We pretty much ran out of the hostel and went straight for the hill. We don't know what to do.
We live in Wellington and we have experience a few but this is definitely so much bigger, she said.
Clarke said everyone in the hostel is out and there have been a couple of aftershocks.
Everyone jumps at every jolt. We are just waiting to go to bed.
There are currently 80 New Zealanders registered on SafeTravel as being in Taiwan.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it had received no requests for consular assistance following the quake.
Multiple buildings across the city of Hualien have been badly damaged. More than 140 people still remain unaccounted for from one building.
Hualien, a popular tourist hub, is home to about 100,000 people.
Residents in the city of Hualien have been told to stay away from their damaged homes, and about 800 have taken shelter in community buildings because of the aftershocks.
Images from the city showed tilted structures, scattered debris and extensive damage to roads in the area.
The Yunman Cuidi building, which has residential and commercial floors, is tilting to one side after sustaining major damage. About 143 of its residents remain unaccounted for, local media said.
Rescuers on Wednesday morning were still working to reach at least five other people who are thought to be trapped in buildings including two people believed to be stuck inside the Marshal Hotel.
Among the several badly damaged buildings was a hospital, local media said.
We were still open when the earthquake happened, a resident said.
Emergency responders, including soldiers, worked through the night, rescuing about 150 people from damaged buildings, but powerful aftershocks have disrupted rescue efforts.
About 40,000 homes are without water, and highways and bridges have been closed.
Offices and schools in the city will remain closed on Wednesday.
President Tsai Ing-wen was at the scene of the quake on Wednesday morning, where she visited hospitals and relief centres.
In a Facebook statement, Ms Tsai said that the government would help Hualien to the best of their abilities, adding that she hoped people's lives would return to normal as soon as possible.
People reported feeling the quake in the island's capital, Taipei, more than 160km (100 miles) away.
Taiwan has been rocked by more than 100 earthquakes so far this month, according to the government.
The island sits near a junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes.
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