Over 1,000 people were hurt and at least nine people died in Wednesday’s 7.4-magnitude earthquake.
In Short
- Over 1,000 individuals were injured, and at least nine died in a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in Taiwan.
- Rescue operations are underway to save hundreds of stranded and missing people, with a focus on areas like Taroko National Park and Hualien.
- Taiwan has improved its disaster response since previous earthquakes, emphasizing top-down and bottom-up approaches to mitigate risks and save lives.
- Disaster management strategies implemented in Taiwan could serve as valuable lessons for other earthquake-prone regions worldwide.
TFD – Explore the aftermath of the powerful earthquake that struck Taiwan, causing over 1,000 injuries and nine fatalities. Dive into the ongoing rescue operations and the strategies employed in disaster management to address this significant natural disaster.
Hong Kong — A day after the largest earthquake to strike the island in 25 years, which left at least nine people dead, Taiwan scrambled on Thursday to save hundreds of stranded and missing individuals.
The Central Disaster Response Center said that as of Thursday afternoon local time, there were 642 people trapped, 42 people missing, and 1,067 people injured. The number of fatalities following the 7.4-magnitude earthquake on Wednesday did not change.
The majority of individuals stranded, according to officials, were at a hotel and activity center in Taroko National Park in eastern Taiwan, which was blocked off by damaged roads. It was confirmed that they were safe.
The Wednesday earthquake rattled buildings in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, and was felt throughout the island and surrounding area during the morning rush hour. On Thursday, the Central Weather Administration for the island kept updating its aftershock report.
Rescue operations concentrated on helping those stranded on and around a damaged highway leading to Hualien, a city of roughly 100,000 people on Taiwan’s east coast that is close to the earthquake’s epicenter. If necessary, supplies will be airdropped to stranded individuals, according to local media.
A helicopter arrived on Thursday morning to rescue six individuals who were stranded in a mining region.
According to Reuters, which cited Taiwan’s fire department, 26 of the around 50 hotel employees who were on their way to a resort in Taroko National Park have been located. Drone footage from the fire department showed other hotel employees waiving from the side of the road next to a minibus that had been hit in the back.
On Thursday, rail service was also resumed to the Hualien region.
The head of Taiwan’s Seismological Center, Wu Chien-fu, stated that Wednesday’s earthquake was the largest to strike the country since 1999, when a 7.6-magnitude tremor claimed the lives of almost 2,400 people.
Since then, Taiwanese authorities have improved their response to earthquakes and preparedness, according to Daniel Aldrich, head of Northeastern University’s Resilience Studies Program in Boston.
According to him, this involves “top-down” actions like strictly enforcing building codes.
According to Aldrich, “they’ve also planned a number of ‘bottom-up’ responses, so making sure individual residents know what to do.” “Where is the shelter for evacuation? How should I proceed? How should I proceed?
He claimed that as a result, Taiwan has seen significantly less fatalities than have been documented in earthquakes of comparable magnitude in nations like Haiti, India, and China.
Aldrich claimed that the lessons learned from the “top-down, bottom-up” approach to disaster management could be implemented elsewhere in the world, including the US, where he believed better planning could be done in earthquake-prone areas like California.
“In many ways, the outcome of the disaster has less to do with the disaster itself than it does with the state of affairs in the nation prior to it occurring,” he stated.
Conclusion
The earthquake in Taiwan underscores the importance of effective disaster management and preparedness. As rescue operations continue and lessons are learned, Taiwan’s response to this powerful disaster sets an example for addressing similar challenges globally. Let us strive for resilience and collaboration in the face of natural disasters to ensure the safety and well-being of communities worldwide.
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