9 dead, more than 1,000 injured and others trapped after Taiwan quake
Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in a quarter-century, which rocked the island on Wednesday morning, killed nine people, stranded dozens at quarries and a national park, and left residents scrambling out the windows of damaged buildings.
The quake, which injured more than 1,000, struck during rush hour and was centred off the coast of rural, mountainous Hualien County, where some buildings were left leaning at severe angles, their ground floors crushed. Just over 150 kilometres away, in the capital of Taipei, tiles fell from older buildings and students evacuated schools for sports fields as aftershocks rattled the island.
Rescuers fanned out in Hualien, looking for people who might be trapped and using excavators to stabilize damaged buildings. The numbers of people missing, or trapped fluctuated as authorities learned of more in trouble and worked to locate them.
About 70 workers who were stranded at two rock quarries were safe, according to Taiwan’s fire agency, but the roads to reach them were damaged by falling rocks. Six workers were going to be airlifted on Thursday.
In the early hours after the quake, which struck just before 8 a.m., neighbours and rescue workers could be seen on TV lifting residents, including a toddler, through windows and onto the street. Some doors had fused shut in the shaking.
Taiwan is regularly jolted by quakes and its population is among the best prepared for them. But authorities expected a relatively mild earthquake and did not send out alerts. The eventual quake was strong enough to scare even people who are used to such shaking.
“I’ve grown accustomed to [earthquakes]. But today was the first time I was scared to tears by an earthquake,” said Hsienhsuen Keng, who lives in a fifthfloor apartment in Taipei.
“I was awakened by the earthquake. I had never felt such intense shaking before.”
At least nine people died in the quake, according to the national fire agency. Most of the fatalities were caused by falling rocks, including four people who were struck inside Taroko National Park, according to the state Central News Agency. One died in a residential building that was damaged, the news agency said.
A tsunami warning was triggered but later lifted.
At least 1,011 people were reported injured. Authorities initially lost contact with 50 hotel employees in minibuses in the national park after the quake downed phone networks. Three employees walked to the hotel, while the others remained stranded. About two dozen tourists were also stranded in the park, the state news agency said.
The quake and aftershocks caused many landslides and damaged roads, bridges and tunnels. The national legislature, a converted school built before the Second World War, and sections of the main airport in Taoyuan, just south of Taipei, also saw minor damage.
Hualien Mayor Hsu Chenwei said 48 residential buildings were damaged in the city, which shares a name with the county. Hsu said water and electricity supplies were being restored.
Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring agency said the quake was 7.2 magnitude while the U.S. Geological Survey put it at 7.4. It struck about 18 kilometres off of Hualien, on Taiwan’s east coast, and was about 35 kilometres deep. Several aftershocks followed.
Traffic along the east coast was at a virtual standstill after the earthquake, with landslides and falling debris hitting tunnels and highways.
Train service was suspended across the island of 23 million people, with some tracks twisted by the stress of the quake, as was subway service in Taipei, where sections of a newly constructed elevated line split apart, but did not collapse.
The initial panic after the earthquake quickly faded. Taiwan prepares for such events with drills at schools and notices issued via public media and mobile phone.
Stephen Gao, a seismologist and professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology, said Taiwan’s readiness is among the most advanced in the world. The earthquake was felt in Shanghai and several provinces along China’s southeastern coast, according to Chinese media. China and Taiwan are about 160 kilometres apart.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said a tsunami of 30 centimetres was detected on the coast of Yonaguni island about 15 minutes after the quake struck. Smaller waves were measured in Ishigaki and Miyako islands. All alerts in the region had been lifted by Wednesday afternoon.
Taiwan lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes occur.