Rescuers search for missing as quake death toll rises to 10
Rescuers are searching for dozens of people still missing a day after Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in a quarter of a century damaged buildings, killed ten people and left others stranded in remote areas.
In the eastern coastal city of Hualien near the epicentre, workers used an excavator to stabilise the base of a damaged building with construction materials as officials took samples of its exterior and chickens pecked among potted plants on its slanted roof.
Mayor Hsu Chen-wei said 48 residential buildings were damaged in Wednesday’s quake, some of which were tilting at precarious angles with their ground floors crushed.
Some Hualien residents were staying in tents, and the main road linking the county to the capital Taipei was still closed yesterday afternoon, but much of Taiwan’s day-to-day life was returning to normal.
Some local rail services to Hualien resumed, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Company, one of the world’s most important manufacturers of computer chips, restarted most operations, the Central News Agency reported.
Taiwan is regularly jolted by earthquakes and its population is well prepared for them.
It also has stringent construction requirements to ensure buildings are quake resistant.
Hendri Sutrisno, a 30-yearold professor at Hualien Dong Hwa University, spent Wednesday night in a tent with his wife and baby, fearing aftershocks.
“We ran out of the apartment and waited for four to five hours before we went up again to grab some important stuff. And then we’re staying here ever since to assess the situation,” he said.
Others also said they did not dare to go home because the walls of their apartments were cracked or they lived on higher floors.
Taiwan premier Chen Chienjen visited some earthquake evacuees yesterday morning at a temporary shelter.
Nearly 1,070 people were injured in the quake.
Of the ten dead, at least four were killed inside Taroko Nationalpark,ahualiencounty tourist attraction famous for canyons and cliffs about 90 miles from Taipei.
One person was found dead in a damaged building and another was found in the Ho Ren Quarry.
Authorities retrieved a body from a trail yesterday.
About 700 people were either still missing or stranded last night, including more than 600 who were stranded inside a hotel called Silks Place Taroko, the National Fire Agency said.
Authorities said the employees and guests were safe and had food and water, and that work to repair the roads to the hotel was close to completion.
Others who were reported to be stranded, including two dozen tourists, about 20 campers and six university students, were also safe, they said.
Authorities also said about 60 workers who had been unable to leave a quarry because of blocked and damaged roads were freed.
The Central News Agency said all were able to leave the mountain safely at around noon yesterday.
Of the ten dead, at least four were killed inside Taroko National Park