Taiwanese Calgarians are nervous for his or her family members after the island was hit with the strongest earthquake in 25 years.
The earthquake’s epicentre was registered simply off the shore of Hualien County at 8 a.m. native time on Wednesday. It was registered as a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in accordance with Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration however the U.S. Geological Survey mentioned it was a 7.4 magnitude earthquake. More than 180 aftershocks have been registered throughout Taiwan by the Central Weather Administration for the reason that quake.
Footage and pictures from Hualien City present buildings leaning precariously after the quake and emergency crews could possibly be seen rescuing folks from crumbling buildings. Deadly landslides had been reported throughout Hualien County after the quake.
As of 4:22 p.m. MT on Wednesday, at the least 9 folks had been killed in accordance with the newest numbers from the Hualien County authorities. At least 50 staff en path to a resort in Taoroko National Park are lacking and a whole bunch of vacationers are nonetheless trapped within the space.
Across Taiwan, greater than 900 folks had been injured.
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This is the most important earthquake for the reason that 7.6-magnitude 921 Jiji earthquake in 1999, which killed greater than 2,000 folks and injured greater than 11,000.
“It’s a very tough feeling … As a native person brought up on the east coast of Taiwan, Hualien … I experienced earthquakes (as a teenager),” mentioned Samson Cho.
Cho is a pastor who immigrated to Canada from Taiwan within the Seventies. He was solely 12 when he skilled his first large earthquake, an expertise that sticks with him to today.
He informed Global News he was on the telephone with household again in Taiwan when the earthquake shook their homeland.
“It was 8 a.m. (for my household) and I used to be speaking to them. It occurred so rapidly … That actually scared me. That introduced me again to my early childhood. I talked by the evening and acquired all types of communications (in regards to the earthquake).
Cho, nonetheless, mentioned Taiwanese persons are resilient and can have the ability to rebuild.
“We’ve been trained to endure these difficult times. We understand. Now we just pray for them,” he mentioned. “I pray that our communities are listening. The Taiwanese association in Calgary should be thinking about a more concrete plan to do something to help. When something happens across the world, Taiwan always takes the first step to help them … My heart is always touched by that. I should do something to help.”
Li-hsin Liu, director common of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vancouver, mentioned she expects some fundraiser occasions to happen within the following days and months.
For now, efforts are centered on mobilizing helps to assist victims. Many persons are nonetheless trapped of their houses and a whole bunch of others have been displaced, in accordance with the Hualien County authorities.
“We are working on that, to see if it will be helpful for a foreign rescue team to visit Taiwan and to work with our rescue team together,” Liu mentioned.
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Taiwanese Calgarians worried about family back home after earthquake strikes island killing 9
