TAIPEI: A strong earthquake shook Taiwan early Thursday afternoon, causing several injuries, damaging buildings and disrupting public transportation.
The magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit Hualien County in eastern Taiwan, with an intensity level of 7 — the highest on Taiwan’s intensity scale — felt in Hualien, 5 in New Taipei and 4 in Taipei.
During the powerful earthquake, two tourists, one of them a Malaysian man, were injured by falling rocks on a mountaineering trail within Taroko National Park.
The severely injured Malaysian man, aged 40, had no vital signs when he was rushed to a hospital in Hualien, but doctors successfully resuscitated him, while the other victim, a 54-year-old Taiwanese woman, suffered a head injury and was also sent to the hospital.
In New Taipei, six cases of people trapped in elevators were reported as of 1.50pm., all of whom were rescued, according to the city government fire department.
In addition, three people in the city were injured by falling objects and hospitalised, where they were reported to be in stable condition, according to the department.
In Taipei, seven injuries and 22 quake-related incidents related to the earthquake were reported as of 2.30pm, including seven involving falling objects and six involving water supply disruptions.
A building on Chang An East Road was found to have tilted, leading to the evacuation of more than 30 people to a nearby park.
During a later inspection tour of the building, Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung, said, citing experts, that the building posed no immediate danger to the occupiers.
Another building in the city’s Xinyi District was also found to have tilted, also posed no danger, according to the city government.
Operations on all lines of the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system were suspended for 90 minutes in the wake of the earthquake.
The Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said it adopted measures such as slowing down the trains or suspending their operation to allow passengers to exit the carriages at the nearest station in accordance with its standard operating procedure for earthquake response.
It also dispatched personnel to examine the system’s equipment to ensure safety before resuming operations at 2.30pm.
The MRT service between Taipei and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport was also suspended for safety inspections and was resumed at 1.45pm.
The temblor also knocked out power to some areas of Taipei’s Zhongzheng District, said state-run Taiwan Power Co.
However, the three nuclear power plants and other hydro and coal-fired power plants operating around the country remained functional after the earthquake.
Shortly after the earthquake, Premier Su Tseng-chang sirected the establishment of the Central Disaster Response Center, according to Cabinet spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka. — Bernama
