Strongest earthquake in 25 years rocks Taiwan, killing 9 people
HUALIEN, Taiwan (AP) — The strongest earthquake in a quarter-century rocked Taiwan during the morning rush hour Wednesday, killing nine people, sending others scrambling out the windows of damaged buildings and halting train service throughout the island. A tsunami warning was triggered but later lifted.
HUALIEN, Taiwan (AP) — The strongest earthquake in a quarter-century rocked Taiwan during the morning rush hour Wednesday, killing nine people, sending others scrambling out the windows of damaged buildings and halting train service throughout the island. A tsunami warning was triggered but later lifted.
The quake, which also injured hundreds, was centered off the coast of rural, mountainous Hualien County, where some buildings leaned at severe angles, their ground floors crushed. Just over 150 kilometers (93 miles) away in the capital of Taipei, tiles fell from older buildings, and schools evacuated their students to sports fields, equipping them with yellow safety helmets. Some children covered themselves with textbooks to guard against falling objects as aftershocks continued. Television images showed neighbors and rescue workers lifting residents, including a toddler, through windows and onto the street, after doors fused shut in the shaking. All appeared mobile, in shock but without serious injuries. Taiwan is regularly jolted by quakes and its population is among the best prepared for them, but authorities said they had expected a relatively mild earthquake and accordingly did not send out alerts. The eventual temblor was strong enough to scare even people who are used to such shaking.
“I’ve grown accustomed to (earthquakes). But today was the first time I was scared to tears by an earthquake,” said Hsien-hsuen Keng, a resident who lives in a fifth-floor apartment in Taipei. ”I was awakened by the earthquake. I had never felt such intense shaking before.”