Taiwan's Strongest Earthquake in 25 Years Kills 9 People, 50 Missing
Editor
3 April 2024 21:38 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Hualien - Taiwan's biggest earthquake in at least 25 years killed nine people on Wednesday, April 3, and injured more than 900, while 50 workers traveling in minibusses to a hotel in a national park were missing.
Some buildings tilted at precarious angles in the mountainous, sparsely populated county of Hualien, near the epicenter of the 7.2 magnitude quake, which struck just offshore at about 8 a.m. (00:00 GMT) and triggered massive landslides.
Linda Chen, 48, said her apartment in downtown Hualien city had been so badly damaged in an earlier earthquake in 2018 that they had to move house. But her new apartment block was damaged too in the latest earthquake.
"We worry the house could collapse anytime. We thought we had already experienced it once in Hualien and it would not hit us again, because God has to be fair," she said.
"We are frightened. We are so nervous."
The quake hit at a depth of 15.5 km (9.6 miles), just as people were headed for work and school, setting off a tsunami warning for southern Japan and the Philippines that was later lifted.
Shaking from an earthquake near Taiwan’s eastern shore was felt across the island nation and parts of mainland China and Japan on Wednesday morning.
Video showed rescuers using ladders to help trapped people out of windows. Strong tremors in Taipei forced the subway system to close briefly, although most lines resumed service.
Fire authorities said they had already evacuated some 70 people trapped in tunnels near Hualien city, including two Germans.
But they had lost contact with 50 workers aboard four minibusses heading to a hotel in a national park, Taroko Gorge, they said, and rescuers were looking for them. Another 80 people are trapped in a mining area, though it was not immediately clear if they were inside a mine.
FIGHTER JETS
A woman who runs bed-and-breakfast accommodation in Hualien city said she scrambled to calm her guests who were scared by the quake.
"This is the biggest earthquake I have ever experienced," said the woman, who asked to be identified only by her family name, Chan.
The government put the number of injured at 946.
"At present, the most important thing, the top priority, is to rescue people," said President-elect Lai Ching-te, speaking outside one of the collapsed buildings in Hualien.
The rail link to the area was expected to re-open on Thursday, Lai, who is set to take office next month, told reporters.
The White House said the U.S. stood ready to provide any assistance necessary.
Taiwan's air force said six F-16 fighter jets had been slightly damaged at a major base in the city from which jets are often scrambled to see off incursions by China's air force, but the aircraft are expected to return to service very soon.
