Ten people have died and over 1,000 sustained injuries after a magnitude-7.3 earthquake hit Hualien County in China's Taiwan region on Wednesday morning, according to the local emergency operation center.

The quake struck in the waters off Hualien at 7:58 a.m. at a depth of 12 kilometers, followed by multiple aftershocks, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

The quake was described as "the strongest quake the region has seen since 1999" by an official from the local earthquake center during a press conference.