Recovery and rescue efforts are continuing after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck off the eastern Taiwanese coastal city of Hualien at 7:58 a.m. local time on April 3.
Rescuers are searching for dozens of people still out of contact a day after the earthquake struck while workers are excavating damaged buildings.
Nine deaths and more than 1,000 injuries have been reported in what was the largest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years.
The National Fire Agency reported that nearly 150 people were either still trapped or out of contact on April 4.
About two dozen tourists and some others were stranded in Taroko National Park. The health and welfare ministry said 64 others were workers at a rock quarry. Six workers from another quarry were airlifted from the area where access was cut off because roads were damaged by falling rocks.
Several people, including six university students, were also reported to be trapped. Around 50 people, mostly employees at the hotel earlier reported to be in the national park, were out of contact with authorities.
There were 1,103 reported disaster incidents across various counties and cities in Taiwan.
On the day the earthquake struck, President Tsai Ing-wen instructed authorities to prioritize rescue efforts.
Mayor Hsu Chen-wei said the earthquake damaged 48 residential buildings. Some of the damaged buildings are tilted at precarious angles, and their ground floors are crushed.
A military serviceman, Mr. You, who was on duty at a disaster site in Hualien, told The Epoch Times that shortly after the earthquake alert, they received reports of collapsed buildings and were dispatched to provide assistance.
The tremors were felt across the whole island, with Hualien suffering the most severe damage.
Eyewitnesses Recall Quake
Ms. Xu, who was touring Hualien on April 3, recounted her experience during the earthquake to The Epoch Times. She was at a bed-and-breakfast having breakfast when she suddenly felt the ground shaking for over a minute. Everyone in the lobby started running outside.Ms. Xu ran outside and witnessed water flowing down from the rooftop of a nearby hotel.
“It was even worse than a heavy rainstorm. I later heard that the water tank on the top floor had ruptured,” she said.
Ms. Xu described scenes of fallen motorcycles and bicycles on the streets, tilted buildings, and vehicles crushed by falling debris.
“The shaking was so violent that people on level ground were shaken to the point of being unable to stand,” she said.
The aftershocks continued, causing all the tableware in the bed-and-breakfast’s restaurant to fall to the floor, leaving the lobby covered in dust. Fortunately, the bed and breakfast she stayed at was constructed with reinforced concrete and remained relatively undamaged.
However, the hotel across the street suffered severe damage, with not only the rooftop water tank being ruptured but also underground water pipes were damaged. Other buildings also experienced water and power outages.
Mr. Wang, the owner of the bed-and-breakfast Ms. Xu stayed at, said this was the most significant earthquake he had experienced.
During a magnitude 6.8 earthquake six years ago, a water pipe in one of Mr. Wang’s establishments ruptured, rendering it uninhabitable and resulting in financial losses.
Despite the ongoing Qingming festival holiday, many tourists had already checked out, he told The Epoch Times.
The government’s focus is currently on rescue operations, and they have yet to address concerns about losses incurred by business owners, he said.
Taiwan is regularly jolted by earthquakes, and its population is among the best prepared for them. It also had stringent construction requirements to ensure buildings are quake-resistant.
The Central Weather Administration of Taiwan stated that this earthquake, being closer to the land and having a shallower epicenter, was felt across Taiwan and nearby islands, marking the strongest earthquake in Taiwan in 25 years.
On Sept. 21, 1999, Taiwan experienced a 7.6 magnitude earthquake, resulting in 2,400 deaths and the destruction of 5,000 buildings. Hualien was last struck by a deadly quake in 2018 that killed 17 people and brought down a historic hotel.
