Taiwan’s earthquake preparedness has advanced over the previous few a long time in response to among the island’s largest and most harmful quakes.
In the years after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in central Taiwan killed practically 2,500 individuals in 1999, the authorities established an city search-and-rescue group and opened a number of emergency medical operation facilities, amongst different measures.
And in 2018, after a quake within the japanese coastal metropolis of Hualien killed 17 individuals and prompted a number of buildings to partially collapse, the federal government ordered a wave of constructing inspections.
Taiwan has additionally been enhancing its early warning system for earthquakes for the reason that Eighties. And two years in the past, it rolled out new constructing codes that, amongst different issues, require house owners of weak buildings to put in ad-hoc structural reinforcements.
So how nicely ready was Taiwan when a 7.4 magnitude quake struck close to Hualien on Wednesday morning, killing at the least seven individuals and injuring a whole bunch extra?
Across the island, one constructing collapsed fully, 15 others had been in a state of partial collapse and one other 67 had been broken, the island’s hearth division mentioned on Wednesday afternoon. Structural engineers couldn’t instantly be reached for remark to evaluate that injury, or the extent to which constructing codes and different rules may need both contributed to it or prevented worse destruction.
As for search-and-rescue preparedness, Taiwan is mostly in superb form, mentioned Steve Glassey, an knowledgeable in catastrophe response who lives in New Zealand.
“The skill sets, the capabilities, the equipment, the training is second to none,” mentioned Dr. Glassey, who labored with Taipei’s city search-and-rescue group in the course of the response to a devastating 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. “They’re a very sharp operation.”
But even the most effective city search-and-rescue group can be stretched skinny if an earthquake causes a number of buildings to break down, Dr. Glassey mentioned.
Taiwan has choices for requesting worldwide assist with search-and-rescue efforts. It might straight ask one other nation, or international locations, to ship personnel. And if a number of groups had been to get entangled, it might ask the United Nations to assist coordinate them, because it did after the 1999 earthquake.
Pierre Peron, a spokesman for the United Nations, mentioned on Wednesday afternoon that no such request had but been made on account of the newest earthquake.
Meaghan Tobin contributed reporting.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/04/02/world/taiwan-earthquake-japan-tsunami
