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Strong quake hits Taiwan, many trapped in toppled building


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Strong quake hits Taiwan, many trapped in toppled building

WALLY SANTANA, Associated Press


TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck southern Taiwan early Saturday, toppling at least one high-rise residential building where rescuers pulled out more than 120 people. Dozens of others are still believed to be inside.

Firefighters scrambled to the site with ladders, cranes and other equipment and pulled survivors from the building in the southern city of Tainan, footage from local TV broadcasters showed.

Taiwan's official news agency said more than 120 people from the 16-story Wei Guan building were pulled from the rubble, and at least 23 were injured. The Central News Agency said that about 200 people are believed to have been living inside in about 60 households.

Several other buildings are also collapsed or partially damaged.

As dawn broke, live Taiwanese TV showed survivors being brought gingerly from the building, including an elderly woman in a neck brace and others wrapped in blankets. The trappings of daily life — a partially crushed air conditioner, pieces of a metal balcony, windows — lay twisted in what appeared to be nearby rubble.

People with their arms around firefighters were being helped from the building, and cranes were being used to search darkened parts of the structure for survivors. Newscasters said other areas of the city were still being canvassed for possible damage.

Men in camouflage uniforms, apparently military personnel, marched into one area of collapse carrying large shovels. Aerial images of at least two different buildings showed what appeared to be significant devastation. It was unclear if both were residential structures.

The Taiwanese news website ET Today reported that two buildings toppled in Tainan, and that some water and gas utility pipes had ruptured. Sirens were wailing as city authorities responded to the quake.

The temblor struck about 4 a.m. local time (2000 GMT Friday). It was located some 22 miles (36 kilometers) southeast of Yujing, and struck about 6 miles (10 kilometers) underground, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

It was felt as a lengthy, rolling shake in the capital, Taipei, on the other side of the island. But Taipei was quiet, with no sense of emergency or obvious damage just before dawn.

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-- (c) Associated Press 2016-01-06

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I was in a quake in Taipei in 2002. Not as bad as this one though. No buildings collapsed, but a construction crane mounted to the side of a building fell over and killed a taxi driver as well as the crane operator.

It was Easter Sunday, so I was at an American friend's apartment. We were cooking a big lunch and drinking Jim Beam, when the refrigerator started dancing back and forth.

Scared us both half to death, and I jumped off my wobbly bar stool and got a 3 point stance with my back against the wall.

It only lasted 8 or 10 seconds and when it was over we went around counting the cracks in the walls where the blocks had separated from the mortar. There were about 12.

We came across these strange blue marks and were confused as to what they were.

It was the imprint of my ass (dye from my blue jeans) against the wall as the building shook! clap2.gif

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I was in a quake in Taipei in 2002. Not as bad as this one though. No buildings collapsed, but a construction crane mounted to the side of a building fell over and killed a taxi driver as well as the crane operator.

It was Easter Sunday, so I was at an American friend's apartment. We were cooking a big lunch and drinking Jim Beam, when the refrigerator started dancing back and forth.

Scared us both half to death, and I jumped off my wobbly bar stool and got a 3 point stance with my back against the wall.

It only lasted 8 or 10 seconds and when it was over we went around counting the cracks in the walls where the blocks had separated from the mortar. There were about 12.

We came across these strange blue marks and were confused as to what they were.

It was the imprint of my ass (dye from my blue jeans) against the wall as the building shook! clap2.gif

To leave marks would mean the jeans being wet. I wonder how that happened? goof.gif

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I was in a quake in Taipei in 2002. Not as bad as this one though. No buildings collapsed, but a construction crane mounted to the side of a building fell over and killed a taxi driver as well as the crane operator.

It was Easter Sunday, so I was at an American friend's apartment. We were cooking a big lunch and drinking Jim Beam, when the refrigerator started dancing back and forth.

Scared us both half to death, and I jumped off my wobbly bar stool and got a 3 point stance with my back against the wall.

It only lasted 8 or 10 seconds and when it was over we went around counting the cracks in the walls where the blocks had separated from the mortar. There were about 12.

We came across these strange blue marks and were confused as to what they were.

It was the imprint of my ass (dye from my blue jeans) against the wall as the building shook! clap2.gif

Blue or brown marks on the wall :)

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"The earthquake struck at 3:57 a.m. local time" and they got to this amount of involvement before the sun rose! must have a lots of practice and a very efficient society

That is 2 and 1/2 hours before sunrise.

How long do you think it takes for the fire department to respond with zero traffic on the road?

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Over 100 missing, 18 dead as strong quake rattles Taiwan

GLADYS TSAI, Associated Press


TAINAN, Taiwan (AP) — Rescuers on Sunday found signs of live within the remains of a high-rise residential building that collapsed in a powerful, shallow earthquake in southern Taiwan that killed at least 18 people and injured hundreds.

The emergency center in Tainan, the worst-hit city, estimated that 132 people were still missing more than 24 hours after the magnitude-6.4 quake struck at dawn Saturday.

Tainan Mayor Lai Ching-te said in TV interviews from the site of the building collapse that life detecting equipment had found signs of life from at least 29 trapped people.

Rescuers had already pulled out at least 247 survivors from the collapsed building. They were among more than 340 people rescued throughout Tainan, where nine other buildings collapsed and five careened, the city government said.

Taiwan's Central News Agency reported that 484 people had been injured, although most of these had been released from hospitals by Saturday night.

The spectacular fall of the 17-story high-rise immediately raised questions about its construction, and Taiwan's interior minister said there would be an investigation.

Rescuer Jian Zhengshun said the work was difficult because part of the building was believed to be buried underground, with the quake loosening the earth. He said rescuers had to clear rubble for passages to reach people who were trapped.

The quake came two days before the start of Lunar New Year celebrations that mark the most important family holiday in the Chinese calendar. The collapsed building had 256 registered residents, but far more people could have been inside when it fell because the population might have swelled ahead of the holiday, when families typically host guests.

Local media said the building included a care center for newborns and mothers, and a 10-day-old infant was among those confirmed dead in the disaster.

Tainan resident Lin Bao-gui, a secondhand car salesman whose cars were smashed when the building collapsed across the street from him, said his house first started "shaking horizontally, then up and down, then a big shake right to left."

"I stayed in my bed but jumped up when I heard a big bang, which was the sound of the building falling," he said.

The operators of Taiwan's high speed rail announced Sunday that the service would resume full operation from noon. The earthquake had damaged power lines near Tainan Station and caused major disruption to the system at a busy time when many people were returning home to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

CNA reported that Madonna offered her condolences to those affected when she performed Saturday night before thousands of fans on the other side of the island in the capital, Taipei, where the quake was felt as a lengthy, rolling shake.

Following the collapse of the residential high-rise, questions surfaced about whether construction of the 1989 structure had been shoddy. Tainan's government said the building was not listed as a dangerous structure before the quake, and the interior minister, Chen Wei-zen, said an investigation would examine whether the developer had cut corners.

Earthquakes frequently rattle Taiwan, but most are minor and cause little or no damage. However, a magnitude-7.6 quake in central Taiwan in 1999 killed more than 2,300 people.

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-- (c) Associated Press 2016-01-07

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"The earthquake struck at 3:57 a.m. local time" and they got to this amount of involvement before the sun rose! must have a lots of practice and a very efficient society

That is 2 and 1/2 hours before sunrise.

How long do you think it takes for the fire department to respond with zero traffic on the road?

I was going to say very much the same thing.

The entire island of Taiwan seems like one big Bangkok when it comes to traffic, but of course I only worked in the major cities (Taipei, Taichung and Kaohshung).

They're quite lucky this happened at the time of day that it did.

----------------------

Off topic, but...

We got lost there one day and asked a policeman (via a map and sign language) for directions near a toll booth on a tollway, and he grinned, and pretty much said "Follow me".

Turned on his lights and escorted us to our destination. He was a really nice guy!

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I was in a quake in Taipei in 2002. Not as bad as this one though. No buildings collapsed, but a construction crane mounted to the side of a building fell over and killed a taxi driver as well as the crane operator.

It was Easter Sunday, so I was at an American friend's apartment. We were cooking a big lunch and drinking Jim Beam, when the refrigerator started dancing back and forth.

Scared us both half to death, and I jumped off my wobbly bar stool and got a 3 point stance with my back against the wall.

It only lasted 8 or 10 seconds and when it was over we went around counting the cracks in the walls where the blocks had separated from the mortar. There were about 12.

We came across these strange blue marks and were confused as to what they were.

It was the imprint of my ass (dye from my blue jeans) against the wall as the building shook! clap2.gif

Blue or brown marks on the wall smile.png

Like I say it only lasted about 8 or 10 seconds, but yeah, if it had lasted 15 seconds, the marks would have been brown.

I only made it to the "Pucker" stage of fright though.

I used to do a LOT of work in Taipei 2001 - 2004. I was based in BKK, but was always going to Taiwan.

I'd be having a drink in the evenings, reading a book, look over, and even though I didn't feel anything, my drink would be ever so slightly sloshing in the glass on the table.

Little tremors like that DAILY in Taiwan.

--------------

Best wishes to those affected by this.

Edited by jaywalker
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I wonder if the first part of this video was sped up like the last part?

The part w/ the car seems to be at normal speed.

Anyhow, that building in the first part came down QUICK!

I had delusions of running to a balcony and jumping 6 floors down in the quake I was in (I was going to jump just before it hit the ground). One's mind quite quickly comes up with a best case 'Idea' when in sheer panic mode.

Then again it hit at around noon time or so.

Everybody in the building in this video was most likely sleeping at 0357 hrs.

Edited by jaywalker
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"The earthquake struck at 3:57 a.m. local time" and they got to this amount of involvement before the sun rose! must have a lots of practice and a very efficient society

That is 2 and 1/2 hours before sunrise.

How long do you think it takes for the fire department to respond with zero traffic on the road?

I was going to say very much the same thing.

The entire island of Taiwan seems like one big Bangkok when it comes to traffic, but of course I only worked in the major cities (Taipei, Taichung and Kaohshung).

They're quite lucky this happened at the time of day that it did.

----------------------

Off topic, but...

We got lost there one day and asked a policeman (via a map and sign language) for directions near a toll booth on a tollway, and he grinned, and pretty much said "Follow me".

Turned on his lights and escorted us to our destination. He was a really nice guy!

Could be a good country to send to BIB to for training. Do wonders for tourism

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Yes mother nature showing her fury again. I wonder if her fury exposed any weaknesses in building construction. Earthquakes always have a tendency to expose faults of mankind and his quest for monetary shortcuts. Japan should show them how to build. Its amazing what they are doing to construct buildings that survive.

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Yes mother nature showing her fury again. I wonder if her fury exposed any weaknesses in building construction

Taiwan earthquake: Felled building 'reinforced with tin cans'

Thank you .. learned something new and important about this event.

The money they saved is now "Blood Money"

Hope they find the "developer" and hang him high.

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