Taiwan: searches still underway after the powerful earthquake
Thursday April 4, a day after the strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in a quarter of a century, rescuers are still working to free hundreds of people still trapped, or even unreachable, in disaster areas in the east of the 'island. According to a new report announced by the disaster management agency, ten people were killed and 1,067 others were injured.
A worker carries out operations while a firefighter sprays water, at the site where a building collapsed following the earthquake, in Hualien, Taiwan April 4, 2024. © Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters
By: RFI with AFP
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Skyscrapers leaning dangerously towards the void, residents of the city of Hualien camping outside for fear of aftershocks, collapsed tunnels with dozens of people still stuck inside... In the aftermath of
the disaster
, the east of
Taiwan
is still in shock after
the powerful earthquake
of April 3, 2024.
No less than 300 aftershocks have shaken the island since Wednesday, and more are still expected. In a message, President
Tsai Ing-wen
warned people about landslides and rockfalls and called for people not to travel to the mountains.
This Thursday, April 4, rescuers are increasing efforts to free dozens of people stuck in road tunnels. Prime Minister Chen Chien-jen visited the disaster site. He hopes rescuers will be able to find everyone still stranded in areas that remain cut off from the world. The authorities are in contact with some 600 people stranded in total, in tunnels, isolated areas or hotels, but cannot communicate with 38 other people, whom they nevertheless consider safe. The image of the day is that of a helicopter which was able to extract six miners trapped in a gypsum quarry in Hualien.
General view of workers carrying out operations at the site where a building collapsed following the earthquake in Hualien, Taiwan, April 4, 2024. © Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters
“
It’s good to be alive
”
Around 4 p.m. (local time), a highway leading to Taroko National Park was cleared. A small group of people stranded for nearly 30 hours emerged, greeted by rescuers who distributed water and directed some to the first aid tent. “
It’s good to be alive
!”
", said one of them, David Chen, an employee of the luxury hotel Silks Place Taroko, located in a mountainous area.
Social media was flooded with spectacular videos and images of the earthquake from all over the island. A video shows nurses trying to stop the mad rush of several incubators in a city maternity hospital during the tremors, or a man trying to get out of a swimming pool on a roof among strong waves.
According to a new toll announced by the disaster management agency, ten people were killed and 1,067 were injured. Situated on the border of several tectonic plates, the state of Taiwan is regularly hit by earthquakes, but strict building regulations and good preparation for natural disasters appear to have avoided a major disaster on the island. In September 1999, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake killed 2,400 people and remains the worst disaster in Taiwan's modern history.
A woman carries goods from a bicycle store into a damaged building, while people move goods and valuables outside the building following the earthquake, in Hualien, Taiwan, April 4 2024. © Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters
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