In the early hours of Tuesday, southern Taiwan was jolted by a powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake, leaving 27 people with minor injuries and causing some structural damage. The quake struck at 12:17 AM, centered 38 kilometers southeast of Chiayi County Hall, at a depth of 10 kilometers. While Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration reported the magnitude as 6.4, the US Geological Survey recorded it slightly lower at 6.0.
Reports of damage emerged from the cities of Chiayi and Tainan, where the tremors were felt strongly. Among those injured, 27 individuals were taken to hospitals, including a 1-month-old baby rescued from a collapsed home in Tainan’s Nanxi district. The Zhuwei bridge on a provincial highway also sustained damage.
Fortunately, there have been no fatalities, although rescue teams are continuing to assess the situation. In Tainan, two people and one individual in Chiayi city were safely rescued after being trapped in elevators during the quake. A fire broke out at a printing factory in Chiayi but was quickly extinguished, with no injuries reported from that incident.
This earthquake comes nearly a year after a devastating 7.4-magnitude quake struck Hualien, resulting in 13 deaths and over 1,000 injuries. Taiwan sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a region notorious for seismic activity, making it particularly vulnerable to earthquakes.
As the community begins to recover from this latest tremor, the resilience of the Taiwanese people is once again put to the test.
+ There are no comments
Add yours