According to Reuters, on April 3 Nine people were murdered and over 900 were injured in Taiwan’s largest earthquake in at least 25 years on Wednesday. Additionally, 50 workers who were traveling in minibuses to a hotel in a national park went missing.
In the hilly, thinly inhabited county of Hualien, close to the epicentre of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck just offshore at roughly 8 a.m. (0000 GMT) and caused extensive landslides, some houses tilted at dangerous angles.
Linda Chen, 48, stated that they were forced to relocate because an earlier earthquake in 2018 severely destroyed their residence in Hualien City’s downtown. However, the most recent earthquake also caused damage to her new apartment building.
“We fear that the home might fall at any moment. We reasoned that since God must be fair, we had already experienced it in Hualien and it wouldn’t happen to us again,” she remarked.
“We feel afraid. We are quite anxious.”
Powerful strikes of Taiwan Earthquake
The largest earthquake to strike Taiwan in over 25 years occurred on Wednesday and had a magnitude of 7.4, according to the US Geological Survey.
About 70 people, including two Germans, who were stranded in tunnels close to Hualien City have already been rescued, according to fire authorities.However, they claimed that they had lost communication with fifty workers traveling in four minibuses to a guesthouse in Taroko Gorge, a national park, and that rescuers were searching for them. An further eighty individuals are stranded in a mining region; however, it was not immediately evident if they were within a mine.
AIRCRAFT JETS
In Hualien City, a woman who owns a bed and breakfast claimed that she hurried to reassure her terrified guests.
“This is the biggest earthquake I have ever experienced,” the woman stated, requesting to only be recognized by her last name, Chan.
The official figure for injuries was 946. Speaking near one of the fallen buildings in Hualien, President-elect Lai Ching-te declared, “At present, the most important thing, the top priority, is to rescue people.”
Lai, who will take office next month, informed reporters that the rail connection to the area was anticipated to reopen on Thursday.
The United States was prepared to offer any support required, according to the White House.
Six F-16 fighter jets at a major base in the city, from where jets are frequently scrambled to fend off intrusions by China’s air force, suffered minor damage, according to Taiwan’s air force, but the aircraft are likely to return to action very soon.
The meteorological service in Japan downgraded its tsunami warning to an advisory and reported that multiple small tsunami waves had hit sections of the southern prefecture of Okinawa. The agency put the magnitude of the earthquake at 7.7.
Chip Supplies
More than 50 aftershocks have been reported, according to weather officials, and they are still felt in Taipei.
The island’s two nuclear power plants are unharmed by the earthquake, according to electrical provider Taipower, which also reported that most power has been restored.
Although there have been no reports of damage or injuries on its trains, services will be delayed while checks are conducted, according to Taiwan’s high-speed rail operator.
The largest earthquake since a magnitude 7.6 one in 1999 that killed over 2,400 people and damaged or destroyed 50,000 buildings, according to the official central news agency, occurred today.
On a scale of 1 to 7, the Hualien earthquake on Wednesday was classified as a “Upper 6” by Taiwanese meteorological experts, meaning it was the second-highest strength.
According to experts, during such earthquakes, people are compelled to crawl instead of standing straight, and walls that aren’t composed of reinforced concrete blocks fall.
+ There are no comments
Add yours