Early on Wednesday morning, Taiwan was struck by a powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake, causing bridges to sway and mountain roads to be buried under landslides.
Vincent Tseng, a resident of Hualien, described the sensation as akin to walking on waves. Despite the widespread destruction, many residents are relieved that the damage wasn’t more severe.
As of Thursday local time, authorities confirmed nine fatalities and over 1,000 injuries. Remarkably, train services were restored within a day of the quake.
Daniel Aldrich, a political science professor at Northeastern University, commended Taiwan’s low casualty count compared to previous earthquakes in other countries. He attributed this to Taiwan’s proactive measures following the devastating 1999 earthquake, which prompted a significant overhaul of building codes and infrastructure.
In the years since Taiwan has focused on retrofitting buildings and bridges to withstand seismic activity and has implemented stricter construction regulations. Zheng Rushi, a civil engineer with the Hualian municipal government, highlighted the upgrades made to existing structures.
Despite the malfunctioning earthquake alert system on Wednesday, Taiwan’s commitment to earthquake preparedness has been evident. Lessons learned from past earthquakes have led to improvements in building designs and emergency response protocols.
Kuo-Fong Ma, a seismologist at Academia Sinica, emphasized the importance of retrofitting schools and conducting regular earthquake drills to ensure public safety.
Taiwan’s vulnerability to earthquakes, with over 2,000 small quakes annually, underscores the necessity of these measures. Trevor Carey, a civil engineering professor at the University of British Columbia, praised Taiwan’s efforts to enhance infrastructure resilience, noting the stark contrast between retrofitted and non-retrofitted buildings during earthquakes.
In Hualien, where the quake’s epicenter was located, life was gradually returning to normalcy despite some damage to buildings. City workers were seen stabilizing a damaged building, a testament to Taiwan’s resilience and preparedness in the face of seismic events.
