On Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, a 6.4M earthquake rocked the coast of Taiwan. The temblor killed two people and injured over 200 more, according to officials.
The national fire and rescue service reported that one person was killed in a residential building and an employee of the Marshal Hotel in Hualien County was killed when the hotel caved in.
A maintenance worker, Chen Minghui was trapped in the basement of the hotel and told authorities the force of the earthquake was “unusual.”
“At first it wasn’t that big… we get this sort of thing all the time and it’s really nothing. But then it got really terrifying. It was really scary.”
Buildings shifted on their foundations and rescuers used ropes, ladder, and cranes to rescue residents. The Beautiful Life Hotel was tilting, according to Taiwanese media. They also posted photographs of a road broken in to several parts.
Highways and bridges were buckling from the earthquake and were closed pending inspection.
Aftershocks continued, therefore, residents of Hualien County were being evacuated to shelters. The newly build baseball stadium was filled with beds and hot food for residents.
Cabinet spokesman, Hsu Kuo-yung, spoke from a crisis center in Taipei, and said that the railways and the runway of the Hualien airport appeared unaffected by the earthquake.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the temblor rocked Taiwan late Tuesday, 22 kilometers northeast of Hualien County at a depth of 9.5 kilometers.
Written by Jeanette Smith
Source:
CDC News: Earthquake strikes city of Hualien in Taiwan, buildings collapse
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