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.
Taiwan has arranged for about 8 million barrels of crude oil, or about one-third of its monthly needs, to be shipped from the Red Sea this month to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and ease domestic supply pressures, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday. The state-run oil company has worked with Middle Eastern suppliers to secure routes other than the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes, CPC chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. Suppliers in Saudi Arabia have indicated they
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
CCP ‘PAWN’? Beijing could use the KMT chairwoman’s visit to signal to the world that many people in Taiwan support the ‘one China’ principle, an academic said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday arrived in China for a “peace” mission and potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), while a Taiwanese minister detailed the number of Chinese warships currently deployed around the nation. Cheng is visiting at a time of increased Chinese military pressure on Taiwan, as the opposition-dominated Legislative Yuan stalls a government plan for US$40 billion in extra defense spending. Speaking to reporters before going to the airport, Cheng said she was going on a “historic journey for peace,” but added that some people felt uneasy about her trip. “If you truly love Taiwan,
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
RSS