A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake shook Taiwan’s east coast at 7:58 am (local time) on Wednesday, 3rd April, 2024. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS) the depth of the epicentre was 34.8 kilometers (21 miles). About 50 aftershocks have also been reported since.
At least 12 people have been reported killed and more than 1000 others injured. Rescuers were struggling to free dozens more trapped in the collapsed highway tunnels. Tsunami warnings in Taiwan, southern Japan and the Philippines were issued soon after the earthquake which generated waves less than half a meter along some coasts. Some airlines suspend their flights. However, all tsunami warnings were lifted later.
The earthquake sent bridges swaying and buried mountainous roads in landslides. Dozens of buildings also collapsed due to strong tremors. Local people report of ground below their feet shaking like flowing waves. Rescuers hurried into Hualien in Taipei, looking for the trapped people using excavators to stabilize damaged buildings. The numbers of people missing, trapped or stranded fluctuated as authorities learned of more in trouble and worked to locate or free them. The rescue workers faced the threat of landslides and rockfalls in Friday’s search for a dozen people missing since Wednesday.
Though the Wednesday’s quake was the strongest to hit Taiwan since 1999 earthquake of 7.7 magnitude killing 2,400 people and injuring 10,000 others, it is remarkable however that despite such a strong earthquake, Taiwan emerged relatively unscathed. There were “so few reported causalities,” says Daniel Aldrich a political science professor at Northeastern University who studies earthquake resilience around the world. “India and Haiti faced less powerful earthquakes in but had far more casualties and Taiwan has managed to have so few”, says Aldrich.
