A catastrophic earthquake rattled Taiwan on Sunday afternoon, leaving four people dead and 20 more injured.
The 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit central Nantou County the hardest, a mountainous region located smack in the middle of the island.
Three people were confirmed on Monday with severe injuries, according to Chinese state-run news site, XinHua. 17 others reported having minor injuries.
The area of Nantou county is a popular tourist destination, boasting scenic views at the Riyuetan, ("Sun Moon Lake",) and multiple eateries that sell Taiwan's famous fare.
More than 840 mainland tourist groups sent an estimated 18,810 Chinese travelers to Nantou in the past week. Of that number, around 817 people in 33 tourist groups were visiting the county at the time of the earthquake. None from those groups, however, were reported as dead or harmed.
The earthquake caused an archway in the historic Wenwu Temple to collapse, but no one was injured because of the damage, Man Hongwei, head of the Association for Tourism Exchange, told Xinhua.
Rocks fell from the Tianzhu Mountains, blocking the main road that leads to a popular scenic spot called The Ladder of Heaven, along with a famous tea garden called Eight Diagram Tea Garden.
Transport was halted, as rescue authorities tried to clear the road.
The first reported fatality was made in Alishan, a city in southern Taiwan. The man was killed while driving down a mountain, by a sudden storm of rocks. The second man was also killed by a rockslide in Chushan, by the earthquake's epicenter, while he was working on a farm.
The third victim of the quake died because he was hit by a falling rock in Nantou, and the fourth casualty was buried alive beneath a landslide in the same area.
Although the tremor was felt throughout the entire island, the northern portion of the island was relatively unharmed.
