Taiwan earthquake: 9 dead, 70 missing

Hualien, Taiwan –

The strongest earthquake in a quarter of a century struck Taiwan during the morning rush hour on Wednesday, killing nine people, stranding dozens of quarry workers and sending some residents rushing out of windows of damaged buildings.

The quake, which also injured more than 1,000 people, was centered off the coast of mountainous rural Hualien county, where some buildings tilted at steep angles, their ground floors shattered. More than 150 kilometers (93 miles) away in the capital, Taipei, slabs fell from old buildings and schools evacuated students to sports fields, equipping them with yellow helmets. Some children covered themselves with textbooks to protect themselves from falling objects as aftershocks continued.

Rescuers fanned out across Hualien searching for people who might be trapped and used excavators to stabilize damaged buildings. The number of people missing, trapped or trapped has fluctuated frequently as authorities learn of more trapped people and work to locate or free them.

About 70 workers trapped in two quarries were safe, but access roads were damaged by falling rocks, the fire agency said. Six workers were due to be airlifted out on Thursday.

In the early hours of the morning after the quake, neighbours and rescue workers were seen on television lifting residents, including a young child, through windows into the street, after doors were slammed shut by the quake.

Taiwan is regularly hit by earthquakes, and its people are among the most prepared for them, but authorities said they were expecting a relatively mild quake and so did not send out warnings. The quake was ultimately strong enough to frighten even people accustomed to such tremors.

“I’m used to earthquakes. But today was the first time I was scared to tears by an earthquake,” said Hsin Hsien-King, a resident of a fifth-floor apartment in Taipei. “I woke up to the earthquake. I’ve never felt such strong shaking before.”

Taiwan's National Fire Agency said at least nine people were killed in the quake, which struck shortly before 8 a.m. Three hikers were killed in rockslides in Taroko National Park in Hualien, and a truck driver died in the same area when he was hit by rocks, the local United Daily News reported.

A tsunami warning was issued, but was later lifted.

Another 1,011 people were injured. Authorities initially lost contact with 50 hotel employees who were in minibuses in the national park after the quake knocked out phone networks. Three of the employees managed to reach the hotel on foot, while the others remained stranded.

The quake and aftershocks also caused 24 landslides and damage to roads, bridges and tunnels. Minor damage was also caused to the National Legislative Assembly, a pre-World War II school and parts of the main airport in Taoyuan, just south of Taipei.

Hualien Mayor Hsu Chen-wei said 48 residential buildings were damaged in the city, which shares the same name as the county. Water and electricity supplies are being restored, Hsu added.

Taiwan's seismological agency said the quake measured 7.2 on the Richter scale, while the U.S. Geological Survey said it measured 7.4. The quake struck about 18 kilometers (11 miles) off Hualien on Taiwan's east coast and was at a depth of about 35 kilometers (22 miles). It was followed by multiple aftershocks.

Traffic along the island’s east coast came to a near standstill after the quake, as landslides and falling debris struck tunnels and highways. Train services were halted across the island of 23 million people, with some tracks buckled by the stress of the quake, as was Taipei’s subway service, where parts of a newly built elevated line broke off but did not collapse.

The initial panic after the quake quickly subsided on the island, which prepares for such events with school drills and notifications via public media and mobile phones. Taiwan’s preparations are among the most advanced in the world, with strict building codes and a world-class seismic network, said Stephen Gao, a seismologist and professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology.

By noon, the metro station in the busy northern Taipei suburb of Beitou was once again bustling with people commuting to work, visiting hot springs or trekking along mountain trails at the base of an extinct volcano.

Chinese media reported that the quake was felt in Shanghai and several provinces along China's southeastern coast. China and Taiwan are about 160 kilometers apart.

In this image taken from a video broadcast by TVBS, a partially collapsed building is seen in Hualien, eastern Taiwan, Wednesday, April 3, 2024. (TVBS via AP)

The Japan Meteorological Agency said tsunami waves as high as 30 centimeters (about 1 foot) were detected off the coast of Yonaguni Island about 15 minutes after the quake struck. Smaller waves were measured on Ishigaki and Miyako islands. All alerts in the area had been lifted by noon Wednesday.

Taiwan lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a seismic fault line that circles the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur.

Hualien was hit by another devastating earthquake in 2018 that killed 17 people and destroyed a historic hotel. Taiwan's worst quake in recent years was on Sept. 21, 1999, a 7.7-magnitude quake that killed 2,400 people, injured about 100,000 and destroyed thousands of buildings.

The economic fallout from the quake has yet to be estimated, but Taiwan is a leading manufacturer of the world’s most advanced computer chips and other high-tech products that are highly sensitive to seismic events. The quake shut down parts of the power grid, which could lead to supply chain disruptions and financial losses.

Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC, which supplies semiconductors to companies such as Apple, said it had evacuated staff from some of its factories in Hsinchu, southwest of Taipei. Hsinchu authorities said water and electricity supplies to all factories in the city’s science park were operating normally.

Taiwan's stock market opened as usual on Wednesday, with the index fluctuating between losses and gains.

Bowden and Mistrino reported from Taipei, Taiwan. Associated Press journalists Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, Lauren Belanger in Bangkok, Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu also contributed.

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