- Taiwan rescuers aid 600 after powerful 7.4 magnitude quake
- Survivors recount harrowing experiences of rockslides and building collapses
- Tremor results in injuries, fatalities, and widespread infrastructure damage
Taiwanese rescuers attempted to contact over 600 stranded individuals one day after the island experienced its most powerful earthquake in twenty-five years.
A survivor detailed how rockslides “like bullets” were hurled by vibrations around the coal mine where he was employed.
The 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck near the eastern county of Hualien resulted in over a thousand injuries and nine fatalities.
Although helicopter rescues have been called for individuals trapped in tunnels and near a national park, 34 remain unaccounted for.
The official tally of individuals stranded or confined increased significantly on Thursday, from approximately 100 to 660, as phone signals began to return in the mountainous regions.
The vast majority are employees and visitors of a remote hotel who are unable to depart due to road damage. Officials are presently determining the most effective method of extricating them.
According to local reports, food provisions have been airdropped to dozens of people trapped in these regions.
“Everyone ran for cover beside the sandbags when the mountain began to rain rocks like bullets,” the survivor, identified by the surname Chu, told Taiwan’s Central News Agency. “There was nowhere to flee.”
Just outside of Hualien, three of the nine fatalities were trekkers on a trail leading to Taroko National Park, so named after a prominent gorge.
Rapid relief efforts are being conducted in Hualien City, the county capital where the earthquake occurred. Workers using excavators and other heavy equipment are demolishing several damaged structures.
Additionally, substantial quantities of gravel and rocks are being employed to reinforce the Uranus building. This ten-story edifice has been sagging since the tremor occurred to avert its potential collapse in the event of an additional aftershock.
According to local news sources, a female educator perished in the building while attempting to retrieve her cat.
Hsu Chiu-yueh, working directly across from the collapsed Uranus building, told the BBC, “I could hardly walk due to the extreme tremors.” I was utterly terrified. I felt that I no longer had control over my legs. My colleagues compelled me to be dragged away so that we might escape.
“A considerable amount of dust entered our building as we were leaving… “We [later] realised that it originated from the partially collapsed building across the street,” the fifty-year-old explained.
An additional resident of Hualien described how the earthquake devastated her residence.
Ocean Tsai said, “I was just getting out of bed when a clothes rack and a low cabinet fell over.”
“As its strength increased, I began to be concerned for the safety of our possessions within our residence. “Fortunately, the extent of the damage was minimal, except the motorbike toppling over.”
More than two hundred aftershocks ensued from the earthquake that occurred 18 kilometres (11 miles) south of Hualien; dozens of these at least 6.5 magnitude aftershocks impeded search and rescue operations. The Taiwanese government anticipates additional aftershocks within the coming days.
Images depict the gradual deterioration of the road adjacent to Hualien’s Qingshui tunnel, one of the numerous winding roads traversing the island’s rocky littoral.
Tourists favour routes such as Qingshui due to the breathtaking vistas from the highlands to the Pacific Ocean. However, they are notoriously difficult, primarily due to the potential occurrence of landslides.
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Additionally, Taipei’s northern capital was violently rocked, as evidenced by footage of collapsed structures and the evacuation of individuals. Local television stations broadcast footage of stores in disarray and shattered vehicles.
“The earthquake is shallow and near land. It is pervasive throughout Taiwan and the offshore islands… “It is the strongest in twenty-five years,” said Wu Chien Fu, director of the Seismology Centre in Taipei, on Wednesday.
ISP disruptions and power outages have been reported throughout the entire island.
On Wednesday morning, tsunami advisories were initially issued near the earthquake and affected islands in the Philippines and Japan; however, these alerts were subsequently lowered.
Locals and expatriates who have lived in Taipei for years agree that this is the strongest earthquake they have witnessed in decades, despite Taiwan’s history of earthquakes.
The previous significant seismic event, measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, occurred in September 1999, resulting in the loss of 5,000 structures and the deaths of 2,400 individuals.
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