China News Service, Taipei, April 3 (Reporter Yang Chengchen) A strong earthquake occurred in the waters of Hualien County, Taiwan on the morning of the 3rd. According to Taiwan's Zhongshi News Network, the Taiwan Fire Department said that the earthquake had killed 4 people and injured 57 people.
Aftershocks of this earthquake continued. As of 12 noon that day, 58 aftershocks had occurred in Taiwan, and disasters were reported in various counties and cities. In terms of water and electricity and other livelihood protection, the earthquake affected power facilities. About 317,000 households in Taiwan were without power that day. As of press time, more than 90,000 households were still without power. According to Taiwan Water Company, the water supply is currently normal. Some pipelines were broken and leaking, and relevant personnel came to the scene to rescue them.
In terms of transportation, the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation pointed out that a total of 21 trains were affected by the earthquake. Its official website once showed that "the number of users has reached the system limit" that morning. Rockfalls and landslides occurred on many highways in Hualien, and Suhua Highway and Zhongheng Highway have been completely closed. The Taiwan Railway Corporation stated that trains on the Eastern Main Line from Jiaoxi in Yilan County to Fenglin in Hualien County are temporarily unavailable. The reporter learned that it is very difficult to go directly from Taipei to Hualien via land transportation such as roads or railways. Each airline only had one temporary extra flight between the two places that day.
It is reported that classes have been suspended throughout Hualien County, and many schools in Taipei, Yilan and other places have also suspended classes. The earthquake was felt throughout Taiwan, and parts of Guishan Island, a famous scenic spot in Yilan, were partially ruptured. The Meteorological Department of the Taiwan authorities stated that this is the largest earthquake that has occurred in Taiwan in the 25 years since the "921 Earthquake", and there may be aftershocks of magnitude 6.5 or above in the next four days. (over)