Quake survivors tell of rescues in Taiwan terror
People’s world upended as disaster knocks buildings off-kilter
Survivors shared harrowing tales of rescue Wednesday as emergency personnel in the Taiwanese city of Hualien scrambled to save lives amid the wreckage of a devastating earthquake that rocked the island nation.
The death toll rose to six, more than
250 people were injured, and scores remained missing after Tuesday’s
magnitude-6.4 quake centered 13 miles from Hualien, a city of more than
100,000 on Taiwan’s east coast. More than 150 aftershocks rattled the area, keeping residents and emergency officials on edge as survivors clambered from damaged buildings.
Four mobile cranes propped up the perilously tilting Yun Men Tsui Ti complex — home to apartments, a restaurant, shops and a hostel. Taiwan’s TVBS News reported that authorities suspended rescue efforts in the 12story complex late Wednesday during heavy rains as the building’s tilt grew more pronounced.
Among those rescued were Shumin Okubo, 63, and her husband, Tao, 68, of Japan. She told Taiwan’s stateowned Central News Agency they were in bed when it began sliding toward the wall as the building tilted. She said her husband has a physical disability because of a stroke. “I knew that if I ever let go, he would have fallen,” she told Taiwan’s Central News Agency. “I thought, whatever happens, we must face it together.”
Chen Chih-wei told Agence FrancePresse he was asleep and unaware of the earthquake until his apartment suddenly turned on its side. “Everything fell down,” he said. “My bed was completely vertical. I was sleeping, and suddenly, I was standing.”
Lu Chih-son, 35, told AFP he saw 20 people rescued from the building.
“I saw the first floor sink into the ground,” Lu said. “Then it sunk and tilted further, and the fourth floor became the first floor.”
Stunning photos and videos from the scene show partially collapsed high-rise buildings. Officials said four major buildings collapsed or appeared ready to do so. The damage sealed off two bridges and several highways.
Thousands of households lost power, and water was cut off to tens of thousands, the government said. President Tsai Ing-wen and Premier Lai Ching-te instructed all government agencies to support rescue efforts.
“My bed was completely vertical. I was sleeping, and suddenly, I was standing.”
Chen Chih-wei