A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan at 2:44pm yesterday, killing one person — a worker at a cement factory in Hualien County’s Yuli Township (玉里), who was struck by falling equipment, and at least 79 persons injured.
The quake, centered in Taitung County’s Chihshang Township (池上), also caused an apartment building and two bridges in Hualien to collapse. It was the strongest earthquake to hit the nation so far this year and followed a magnitude 6.4 tremor late on Saturday.
Rescuers in Yuli Township yesterday saved all four people trapped under rubble at the apartment building, and others rescued three people, who were crossing the nearby Kaoliao Bridge (高寮大橋) when it collapsed, the Hualien County Government said.
Photo: AP
The Luntien Bridge (崙天大橋) connecting Hualien’s Jhuosi (卓溪) and Fuli (富里) townships also collapsed.
Damage was also reported at the Yuli Bridge (玉里橋), impeding traffic on Highway No. 9.
Six cars of Tzuchiang Express train No. 402 derailed in Hualien’s Dongli Station after being hit by a collapsing concrete canopy.
Photo: AFP / Taiwan Railways Administration
The Taiwan Railways Administration said that 20 passengers had left the train before the derailment.
Train services were suspended between Hualien and Taitung, the agency said.
It also reported damage to railway tracks and cables along railway lines in the two east coast counties.
Photo: CNA
Nearly 400 travelers were trapped on Yuli’s Chikeshan (赤科山), as a road was damaged by a landslide triggered by the earthquake, local residents said.
Cellphone reception was weak, likely due to utility poles being damaged by landslides, they said.
The quake also damaged water pipes in Yuli, where power outages affected more than 7,000 households.
Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei Times
Hualien County Commissioner Hsu Chen-wei (徐榛蔚) announced that schools and offices in Yuli, Fuli and Jhuosi townships would remain closed today, citing damage to homes, roads and other infrastructure.
Taitung County Commissioner Yao Ching-ling (饒慶鈴) announced school and office closures in Chihshang, Guanshan (關山), Luye (鹿野), Yenping (延平) and Haiduan (海端) townships.
Shaking was felt as far away as Taipei and Kaohsiung, with residents posting videos on social media of light fixtures swaying.
Photo courtesy of a member of the public
A 36-year-old man sustained injuries in Taoyuan’s Bade Civil Sports Center when part of the ceiling fell on a badminton court, the Taoyuan Fire Department said.
Isolated power outages were also reported in Taipei, Tainan, Kaohsiung, New Taipei City and Taitung County.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami advisory for several islands in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture near Taiwan, but later lifted it.
Photo: CNA
The magnitude 6.4 foreshock on Saturday night also caused damage to facilities in Taitung, including in Taitung City, and in Guanshan, Chihshang and Luye townships.
An 80-year-old colonial-era house in Taitung City, as well as the 68-year-old Wanan Brick Kilns in Chihshang were damaged. Hundreds of urns in a columbarium in Luye were damaged. In Guanshan, a rice mill and a concrete plant were damaged.
Additional reporting by agencies
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
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