A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village.
A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures.
In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers.
Photo courtesy of the Tainan Fire Bureau
Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan and Chiayi City have all been rescued, the National Fire Agency said.
In Tainan, four people were injured among 11 residents rescued from six collapsed or severely damaged homes in a residential area consisting of single-story houses in Nansi District (楠西), the Tainan Fire Bureau said.
The four sustained minor injuries, such as bruises, and were sent to the hospital.
Photo courtesy of the Chiayi County Government
The remaining evacuees were temporarily sheltered outdoors near the area.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit Chiayi County at 12:17am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
The epicenter was 37.9km southeast of Chiayi County Hall, at a depth of 9.7km, CWA data showed.
Photo: CNA
The quake's intensity was highest in Chiayi County, where it measured a 6- on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale.
The earthquake also measured a 5- in neighboring Tainan, as well as in Kaohsiung, CWA data showed.
Bureau officials said they received a report of house collapses on Minzu Road at 12:19am and immediately dispatched rescue teams to the site.
More than 10 single-story houses in the area had collapsed or partially collapsed, with residents trapped inside, fire officials said.
One woman, in her 80s, said she had lived in Nansi her whole life, but had never experienced such a strong earthquake.
Her phone was crushed, and she barely had time to escape to safety, the woman said.
Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) visited the area and promised to provide warm clothing, hot meals and other assistance to the affected residents.
Nansi and Dapu have canceled work and school today due to earthquake damage.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) evacuated its employees from several factories in central and southern Taiwan following the quakes.
In a statement, TSMC said the evacuations were carried out at its facilities in the Central Taiwan Science Park in Taichung and Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan as part of its emergency response procedures.
The company confirmed that all employees at the affected sites are safe.
The Southern Taiwan Science Park Bureau also reported that machines at major facilities in the park were shut down as a precaution following the quakes.
Employees were evacuated, and no injuries have been reported, the bureau said.
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
RSS