VIDEO: Taiwan earthquake: Series of powerful aftershocks hit Hualien 타이완 규모 6.4 강진 발생...2명 사망

Taiwan earthquake: Series of powerful aftershocks hit Hualien

Aftershocks continue to rattle Taiwan after a strong earthquake that killed at least four people and injured more than 200 others.

Sky News

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타이완 규모 6.4 강진 발생...2명 사망 

7일 타이완 동부 화롄에서 규모 6.4의 강진으로 건물이 기울었다.

타이완에서 6일 강한 지진이 발생해 최소 2명이 사망했습니다.

타이완 기상 당국에 따르면 이날 오후 타이완 동부 화롄 지역에서 규모 6.4의 강진이 발생했습니다.

로이터 통신은 정부 당국자의 말을 인용해 2명이 사망하고 100여 명이 크고 작은 부상을 입었다고 보도했습니다.

현지 언론은 이번 지진으로 도로와 교량이 파손되고 건물이 기울었으며, 여러 지역에서 전기가 끊겼다고 보도했습니다. 또 타이완 전역에 크고 작은 여진이 계속되고 있다고 전했습니다.

타이완 당국은 이번 지진 발생 직전 휴대전화를 통해 지진 경보를 발송했습니다.

VOA 뉴스

황기철 콘페이퍼 에디터 큐레이터

Ki Chul Hwang, conpaper editor, curator

The powerful 6.4-magnitude tremor struck at 23:50 (15:50 GMT) about 20km (12 miles) off the island's east coast.

Multiple buildings across the city of Hualien have been badly damaged. More than 140 people still remain unaccounted for from one building.

Hualien, a popular tourist hub, is home to about 100,000 people.

Residents in the city of Hualien have been told to stay away from their damaged homes, and about 800 have taken shelter in community buildings because of the aftershocks.

Images from the city showed tilted structures, scattered debris and extensive damage to roads in the area.

The Yunman Cuidi building, which has residential and commercial floors, is tilting to one side after sustaining major damage. About 143 of its residents remain unaccounted for, local media said.

Rescuers on Wednesday morning were still working to reach at least five other people who are thought to be trapped in buildings including two people believed to be stuck inside the Marshal Hotel.

Hotel tilting after earthquake in Hualien, Taiwan, 6 February

Several high-rise buildings sustained severe damage, with this one tilting heavily

A hotel is pictured with its bottom floors crushed

The lower floors of the Marshal Hotel have collapsed, with two people thought to be trapped inside

Among the several badly damaged buildings was a hospital, local media said.

"We were still open when [the earthquake] happened," Lin Ching-wen, who operates a restaurant near the hospital told newswire Reuters.

"I grabbed my wife and children and we ran out and tried to rescue people."

Emergency responders, including soldiers, worked through the night, rescuing about 150 people from damaged buildings, but powerful aftershocks have disrupted rescue efforts.

'I wanted to hide under a bed'

by Chang Chunglan, BBC Chinese, Hualien

Earthquakes are not uncommon for residents in Hualien but the 6.4-magnitude quake, one of the strongest in recent years, came as a shock.

According to witnesses, residents were running out of buildings crying and screaming when the earthquake shook the city.

"It is the first time in my life [where I felt like] I wanted to hide under a bed," said 32-year-old Ms Chieh. "Later, my entire family and all my neighbours ran out onto the street."

She added that she felt very scared and found it "unbelievable" that the hotel building near her home was so seriously damaged.

About 40,000 homes are without water, and highways and bridges have been closed.

Offices and schools in the city will remain closed on Wednesday.

President Tsai Ing-wen was at the scene of the quake on Wednesday morning, where she visited hospitals and relief centres.

In a Facebook statement, Ms Tsai said that the government would help Hualien to the best of their abilities, adding that she hoped "people's lives would return to normal as soon as possible".

People reported feeling the quake in the island's capital, Taipei, more than 160km (100 miles) away.

A damaged cement road in Hualien, eastern Taiwan

The earthquake has damaged roads and buildings across Hualien

The earthquake comes exactly two years after a previous quake in the Taiwanese city of Tainan that killed at least 116 people.

Taiwan has been rocked by more than 100 earthquakes so far this month, according to the government. The island sits near a junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes.

Taiwan has for all practical purposes been independent since 1950, but China regards it as a rebel region that must be reunited with the mainland.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42970377

 

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