Taiwan: 900 people were hurt in an earthquake; rescue operations are ongoing

Taiwan is now conducting rescue operations following a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that slammed the eastern shore of the island, leaving at least nine people dead and over 900 injured.

Along the untamed coastline, about 127 people are stuck in collapsed tunnels and on steep roadways.

Strong tremors were reported in Taipei, the capital city, more than 100 kilometers away, even though the epicenter was located 18 kilometers (11 miles) south of Hualien city.

Taiwan has not had a stronger earthquake in 25 years.

Additionally, it caused tsunami warnings to be issued earlier in the day for adjacent Philippine and Japanese islands, but these were later canceled. Buildings collapsed, roads were blocked, and rail lines were delayed in Hualien, causing the most damage and further isolating the isolated area from the rest of Taiwan.

“I was just getting out of bed when a low cabinet and a clothes rack fell over,” Hualien resident Ocean Tsai said to BBC Chinese. “As it continued to grow stronger, I began to worry about our household possessions. Fortunately, there was not much damage other than the motorcycle toppling over.”

But shortly, amazing footage of landslides around the shore was all over social media. As they smashed into the water, massive clouds erupted from the mountains as they fell.

Numerous people have become imprisoned along this shoreline because of its small, winding paths and tunnels dug out of the rock. Due to its breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean across the mountains, the route is well-liked by travelers. However, it is also well recognized to be dangerous, in part due to the potential for landslides.

Rescue efforts to free the 77 individuals stranded in the Hualien road’s Jinwen and Qingshui tunnels were going on late into the night. Images demonstrate how the road outside the Qingshui tunnel has just collapsed.

It’s unknown how long the people inside will be imprisoned, whether they have access to food and water and whether they can contact outsiders.