ALERT: Taiwan- earthquake injures 200-plus; kills at least two (February 6, 2018)
February 6, 2018
At least two people are dead and 202 injured after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Tuesday just off the east coast of Taiwan late Tuesday, local police said. The first through third floors of the Marshal Hotel in Hualien county caved in, causing the death of one employee. Another person died in a residential building.
CNN reports:
The quake was centered in the East China Sea about 21 kilometers north-northeast of Hualien City. Light shaking was felt in the capital of Taipei, about 120 kilometers north of Hualien City, according to reports sent to the US Geological Survey.
Three buildings have collapsed, including the Marshal Hotel in Hualien City. Jeff Lin with the Hualien Police Department described the other two structures as “city department buildings.”
About 400 rescue workers scrambled to locate people, and a crane was brought in to help, footage from CNN affiliate SET TV showed. One building apparently had collapsed onto what once was the ground floor.
The injured are mainly from the Marshal Hotel, and a few of the injured were in the city buildings. One hotel employee was rescued from the basement and three others remain missing, officials said.
At least 50 Japanese tourists were among the injured, a Hualien City police dispatcher said.
Officials had no numbers for missing people.
In addition, two bridges in the area were damaged and have been closed, Lin said.
A 5.4 aftershock hit near Hualien City shortly after the larger earthquake, according to the USGS. There have been several other strong quakes in the area in the last few days.
Cellphone video from Hualien City shows a large building leaning at a dangerous angle as sirens are heard in the background. The video shows people gathering near the building and shining flashlights on windows.
According to The Weather Channel:
The temblor knocked out power to 1,900 homes in the city, The Epoch Times reports.
Some of the highways and bridges in the area have been shut down by authorities so that inspections can be performed, AP reports.
Officials shut down the Hualien Bridge and the Su-Hua Highway was temporarily closed due to a surface uplift on the roadway, Xinhua News Agency reports.
Multiple landslides that occurred along the Su-Hua Highway also contributed to its closure, according to Taiwan News.
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