the strongest 7.2 magnitude earthquake in a quarter-century rocked taiwan during the morning rush hour on wednesday, killing nine people, injuring 1,011, stranding dozens of workers at quarries and sending some residents scrambling out the windows of damaged buildings. the quake, which also injured more than 1,000, was centred off the coast of rural, mountainous hualien county, where some buildings leaned at severe angles, their ground floors crushed.