Days after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan, approximately 400 people are still stranded and waiting for their rescue, CNN reported while citing the island’s fire department on Saturday.
Authorities have, however, clarified that those listed as stranded are considered safe, but are cut off by landslides and other blockages on rural roads in the heavily impacted East Coast region.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the quake has increased to 13, Taiwan’s National Fire Agency (NFA) said, after three bodies were recovered from a walking trail through the mountainous region. Of them, two bodies were recovered on Friday and the other on Saturday, the NFA said, while adding that the teams were still working to confirm the identities of those recovered, CNN reported.
This seismic event, Taiwan’s most powerful earthquake in a quarter-century, struck the entire island on April 3 (Wednesday) and was felt as far away as Hong Kong and Shanghai.
“More than a thousand people are being treated for injuries, and six people are still missing,” officials said, as quoted by CNN. According to CNN, in Hualien County, the worst-affected region, buildings buckled and landslides were triggered. Survivors told CNN that many local shops and businesses, some operating for over a decade, were gone in one morning.
Taiwanese authorities reported on Saturday that rescue operations persisted amid challenging weather conditions. Plans to deploy a technician and a low-orbit satellite to enhance rescue efforts were underway but were hindered by the ongoing adverse weather conditions.
Wednesday’s earthquake shook more parts of Taiwan with greater intensity than any other earthquake since 1999, when a tremor of 7.7 magnitude hit the middle of the island, killing 2,400 people and injuring 10,000 others.
This week’s relatively low death toll has been credited to the government’s push for preparedness after lessons it learned 25 years ago.
Victims of the earthquake have been mostly killed outdoors by falling rocks or landslides.
Authorities reported that four individuals perished while hiking in Taroko Gorge, while another four lost their lives on mountainous highways. Additionally, one individual was fatally injured while working at a remote quarry.
So far, only one person has been killed in a collapsed building–the Uranus Building in downtown Hualien. She initially escaped but went back to rescue her pet cat, CNN reported.