Buildings collapse, people trapped in magnitude 6 Taiwan quake

PUBLISHED
2 HOURS AGO
UPDATED
24 MIN AGO

TAIPEI - A shallow 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the Taiwan's north-eastern coast late on Tuesday (Feb 6), causing numerous buildings to collapse and trapping many people in the rubble, Taiwanese media and the authorities said.

Many residents fled to the streets of Hualien county, the epicentre of the quake, in panic as buildings including a hotel buckled under the shock, Taiwanese media reported.

Images showed the lower floors of the Marshal Hotel have collapsed.

An official from the Ministry of Interior’s fire station division told Reuters by phone that people were trapped in the buildings in Hualien.

The government said a bridge in the city on Taiwan’s eastern coast could not be used, and the structure of an inn had tilted during the earthquake.

Some roads were also damaged. Images circulating on social media showed roads with gaping holes and cracks. Rockfall, blackouts and gas leaks were also reported elsewhere.


“The president (Tsai Ing-wen) has asked the Cabinet and related ministries to immediately launch the ‘disaster mechanism’ and to work at the fastest rate on disaster relief work,” the president’s office said in a statement after the earthquake.

Military spokesman Chen Chung-chi said the military has been deployed to assist in the rescue mission.

He said 88 military personnel of the Hua-tung Defence Command have been dispatched to the scene while another 250 soldiers will be sent soon, reported Focus Taiwan News Channel.

Amy Chen, a 64-year-old flower arrangement teacher who was at home with her husband when the quake hit, told the semi-official Central News Agency: "I have never experienced an earthquake as large as this one. I am terrified."

She added: "The bookshelves in my home toppled and flower vases fell and broke. There are scattered glasses everywhere."

She said she is afraid to go back to bed and was sitting in her living room, which is close to the front door of her house. "I've got a bottle of water, my phone and my purse next to me. I've put on outdoor clothes. I'm ready to run if I need to."

The Central Weather Bureau reported more than a dozen aftershocks following the first, which struck at 11.50pm.

On Sunday, another five shallow tremors struck within two hours of each other in the same area off Taiwan’s east coast.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes. The island’s worst tremor in recent decades was a 7.6-magnitude quake in September 1999 that killed around 2,400 people.

23:50 花蓮地區再發生規模6地震 花蓮傳有大樓坍塌

花蓮23:50地震規模6.0 宜花七級傳民宅倒塌

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Maggie Lewis 陸梅吉@MargaretKLewis


6.0 #earthquake just hit #Taiwan. We were swaying 12 floors up here in Taipei. As Yogi Berra used to say, "It's déjà vu all over again." Hope everyone closer to the epicenter is safe.
8:03 AM - Feb 6, 2018




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