Two people were killed and a Canadian tourist was injured yesterday when an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale rocked eastern Taiwan, officials said.
The quake struck at 3:56pm, and was felt across the island. The quake was centered 7km west of the Hualien town of Hsincheng, the Central Weather Bureau said.
The quake had an intensity of 7 in Taroko, Hualien; 5 in Hualien City and Nanshan in Ilan County; 3 in Techi, Sun Moon Lake and Tsaoling in Yunlin County; 2 in Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Changhua, Chiayi, Tainan and Ilan City; and 1 in Kaohsiung and Taichung City.
Visitors were stranded after a bridge collapsed in Taroko Gorge National Park. A Canadian tourist visiting the gorge was slightly hurt by a falling rock, they said.
Giant rocks loosened by the quake hit a truck on the Central Cross-Island Highway in the park area, crushing the vehicle and the two people inside it.
The victims were identified as Lai Hsiu-chuan (
Heavy rain and traffic jams made it difficult for rescue workers to reach the scene of the accident.
Falling rocks forced authorities to close the Central Cross-Island Highway as well as the coastal Suao-Hualian highway for a few hours.
Workers had begun removing debris from the road, allowing smaller vehicles to leave, but at least 22 buses were still reportedly unable to pass as of press time.
Taroko Gorge National Park spokesman Chu Li-ming (朱利明) advised drivers to avoid the two highways which could be prone to more falling rocks.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
RSS