Tag: earthquakes

Strict building codes and widespread public disaster awareness appear to have staved off a major catastrophe.

Rescuers in Taiwan are continuing their search for 18 people still missing after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the island’s rugged east coast.

Wednesday’s earthquake in the mountainous and sparsely populated eastern county of Hualien killed 10 people, injured more than 1,000 and left hundreds stranded in a national park as landslides cut off roads.

On Friday, Taiwan’s fire department said 18 people were still missing, including six on a hiking trail, and four foreigners previously listed as being Indian, Canadian and Australian.

Rescuers confirmed that about 400 people cut off at a resort in the scenic Taroko National Park were safe, with helicopters taking in supplies and bringing out the injured.

“We’re assessing the possibility of rain today, so our search and rescue colleagues will be equipped with rain gear. However, rain increases the risks of rockfalls and landslides, which are currently the biggest challenges we face,” said Su Yu-ming, captain of the Kaohsiung city search and rescue team.

“These factors are unpredictable, which means we cannot confirm the number of days required for the search and rescue operations at this time.”

A group of 50 workers who were on their way to the hotel by road at the time of the quake were now mostly safe.

“I am lucky to survive this disaster. We were terrified, especially when the earthquake first happened. We thought it was all over, all over, all over, because it was an earthquake, right?” said David Chen, 63, a security manager at the hotel, after he was rescued on Thursday.

“As we were leaving, rocks were still falling. We had to navigate through the gaps between the falling rocks, with the search and rescue team upfront,” he added.

Sleeping in tents

Wednesday’s quake was the worst in 25 years, but strict building regulations and widespread public disaster awareness appear to have staved off a major catastrophe.

More than 100 residents of Hualien, the worst-hit city, chose to spend the night in tents outdoors rather than in apartments with hundreds of aftershocks reported in the hours since the quake.

“Our worry is when the big aftershocks happen, it might be really hard for us to evacuate one more time – especially with the baby,” said Indonesian Hendri Sutrisno, 30, a professor at Donghua University.

He and his wife hid under a table with their infant when the earthquake struck before fleeing their apartment.

“We have all the necessary stuff, blankets, a toilet and a place to rest,” he said.

The earthquake struck the day before Taiwan began a long weekend holiday for Qing Ming, when families traditionally visit the graves of their ancestors to clean and make offerings.

The government warned people to be wary of landslides or rockfalls if they ventured to the countryside for the holiday.

“Do not go to the mountains unless necessary,” warned President Tsai Ing-wen.

More than 100 people were killed in a quake in southern Taiwan in 2016, while a magnitude 7.6 quake killed some 2,400 people in 1999, the worst natural disaster in the island’s history.

The quake struck on Wednesday morning and was the strongest to hit the island in 25 years.

The search for survivors of Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years continues.

At least nine people have been confirmed dead and hundreds injured after the magnitude 7.2 tremor hit off the island’s east on Wednesday morning.

Relief efforts are focussed on Hualien, along the rugged and scenic east coast, where dozens of buildings were left teetering after their lower floors collapsed, bridges and tunnels were destroyed and roads were damaged by rocks and landslides.

In its latest update on Thursday morning, the National Fire Agency said 1,038 people had been injured, while 52 were missing and uncontactable. The death toll remained at nine, all of whom were found in Hualien.

Three people among a group taking a morning hike in the Taroko National Park were killed after the earthquake triggered a rock slide.

The fire agency said rescuers were using drones and helicopters to search for people thought to be trapped in the park, which is known for its scenic beauty. About 38 workers on their way to a hotel in the park remain missing after some of their colleagues were found safe.

Strongest quake since 1999

Located on a tectonic boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate, Taiwan is used to earthquakes and well-prepared for them, but officials at the earthquake monitoring agency were expecting a far weaker tremor and did not send out their usual alert.

The quake, which Japan’s meteorological agency initially put at 7.5 magnitude and the US Geological Survey at 7.4, struck about 18km (11 miles) south of Hualien. It caused widespread alarm in Taipei more than 100km away, where buildings shook violently, and triggered tsunami warnings from southern Japan to the Philippines.

Authorities have recorded multiple aftershocks.

For some, the quake reawakened memories of Taiwan’s last major quake in 1999, when a magnitude 7.6 quake killed some 2,400 people and injured 10,000 more.

Stacy Liu, a former engineer-turned-Chinese teacher, was in an online lesson when the earthquake struck.

“I was freaking out. I felt like scary things were going to happen all over again, because I’ve been through 1999, so I know how scary it can be,” Liu told Al Jazeera. “I was taking out [construction] helmets, prepping our guinea pigs, and putting some water and snacks under the table in case something crazy happened.”