The 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Taiwan on Wednesday broken quite a few buildings and a major street in Hualien, a metropolis on the east coast, and knocked out energy because it shook the island.
Two tall buildings in Hualien that sustained significantly in depth harm have been on the heart of rescue efforts there. Many of the harm throughout town was not life-threatening, mentioned Huang Hsuan-wan, a reporter for a neighborhood information web site.
“Many roads have been blocked. There are numerous partitions knocked down on automobiles,” Derik du Plessis, 44, a South African resident of Hualien, mentioned shortly after the earthquake. He described individuals operating round city to examine their houses and decide up their kids. Considered one of his buddies misplaced his home, he mentioned.
One of many broken buildings in Hualien, a 10-story construction referred to as the Uranus Constructing that homes a mixture of homes and outlets, was leaning and appeared prefer it was about to break down. Lots of its residents managed to flee, however some have been lacking, mentioned Sunny Wang, a journalist primarily based within the metropolis. Rescuers tried to succeed in the basement, fearful that individuals could possibly be trapped there.
Images of the preliminary harm in Hualien confirmed one other constructing, a five-story construction, leaning on its facet, with crushed bikes seen at flooring degree. Bricks had fallen from one other skyscraper, leaving cracks and holes within the partitions.
The quake additionally precipitated not less than 9 landslides on the Suhua Freeway in Hualien, in accordance with Taiwan's Central Information Company, which mentioned a part of the street had collapsed.
