Terrified American woman, 25, clutches daughter close as 7.5 magnitude earthquake rocks Taiwan on her fourth day in the country

A 25-year-old travel blogger held on to her daughter for dear life when the 7.5 magnitude earthquake shook Taiwan - and it was only her fourth day in the country.

TikTok user Sakura Siegel, who goes by the username @lostamulet, recorded the moment the earthquake hit the building her and her daughter were staying in on their trip.

Sakura told DailyMail.com that she and her husband, who is originally from Taiwan, were planning on spending two weeks with his family in their home.

'So I've experienced earthquakes before. Small smaller ones when I was living in Japan,' she said, 'I thought it was just gonna be one of the small earthquakes. So I took my phone out start recording.'

As the tremors became more severe, she yelled for her daughter to come to her, picking her up and holding her as the house shook.

A 25-year-old travel blogger held on to her daughter for dear life when the 7.5 magnitude earthquake shook Taiwan

She filmed the effects of the aftershock that were evident around the house

The 7.5 magnitude quake in Taiwan struck just before 8:00 am local time, causing a wave of mass destruction across the country

 She panned the camera to the closet in front of her, which showed the clothes swinging back and forth on their hangers.

When the earthquake started to die down, she filmed the effects of the aftershock that were evident around the house, such as the chandeliers swinging back and forth.

Siegel said she and her family are planning on staying for the duration of their trip as they are away from the epicenter of the quakes.

'Earthquakes are spontaneous. It could happen anytime. You just have to be prepared when it happens.'

The 7.5 magnitude quake in Taiwan, which struck just before 8:00 am local time, caused damage to dozens of buildings, triggered tsunami warnings that reached Japan and the Philippines.

The natural disaster has left at least nine people dead and over 900 injured.

Rescuers expect the total number of injured and killed to rise as the hunt for people trapped by the quake continues.

All the deaths took place in Hualien county, 

Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CWA) said that aftershocks between 6.5 and 7-magnitude may occur over the next few days.

The last quake with a similar strength hit Taiwan in September 1999, killing around 2,400 people in the deadliest natural disaster in the island's history. 

Taiwan's national fire agency says 70 miners are trapped in two different coal mines in Hualien County.

Sixty-four people were trapped in one coal mine, and six people were in a different mine, the agency said.

And the destruction doesn't end there. Nearly 200 telecom base stations affected by quake, as authorities lose contact with 50 trapped people who are stick on four minibuses,

The quake struck shortly before 9am Japan time (12am GMT, 1am UK time) on Taiwan's eastern edge, south of the coastal city of Hualien

The magnitude-7.4 quake struck just before 8:00 am local time (0000 GMT), with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) putting the epicentre 18 kilometres (11 miles) south of Taiwan's Hualien City, at a depth of 34.8 kilometres.

This photo taken by Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on April 3, 2024 shows a damaged building in Hualien, after a major earthquake hit Taiwan's east

This photo taken by Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on April 3, 2024 shows people looking at a damaged building in Hualien

This photo taken by Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on April 3, 2024 shows rescue workers searching for survivors trapped in a damaged building in New Taipei City

Firefighters work at the site where a building collapsed following the earthquake, in Hualien, Taiwan

This photo taken by Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on April 3, 2024 shows emergency workers attending to a survivor, who had been trapped in a damaged building, in New Taipei City

Another video shared on social media shows commuters being rocked on trains and shaken on bridges amid the tremors

Rescue workers still figuring out how to save people trapped in leaning buildings.

'Whenever our team moves, the building becomes unstable and they have to find something to hold on to ensure their safety before pulling people out,' Su Ching-hui from Tawain's local fire department said.

Authorities said the quake and aftershocks also caused 24 landslides and damage to 35 roads, bridges and tunnels.