By COLlive reporter
A 7.4-magnitude earthquake, followed by several strong aftershocks, struck off the east coast of Taiwan on Wednesday morning, killing nine people and injuring at least 963, according to Taiwan’s fire department. The earthquake, which damaged buildings and caused landslides, was the largest to hit Taiwan in 25 years and was also felt in parts of China.
The epicenter was in the city of Hualien, a mountainous area with transportation routes passing through tunnels. Some of the tunnels collapsed, and people were reported trapped. The earthquake occurred around 8:00 a.m. local time in Taiwan.
The Taiwan Power Company (TAIPOWER) reported that more than 87,000 homes in the country are without electricity.
According to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, this is the strongest earthquake in the country since 1999 when a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck, resulting in the deaths of 2,400 people.
The earthquake triggered tsunami warnings in the southern islands of Japan and the Philippines. The earthquake was also felt in China.
Rabbi Shloimi Tabib, the Chabad Shliach in Taiwan, resides with his wife Racheli in the capital city Taipei. He described to COL the frightening moments when the earthquake struck:
“We live on the third floor above the Chabad house. Around 8 in the morning, a strong earthquake struck, things started moving everywhere, waking up our six children. My wife and I quickly took them and ran to the ground floor, as per the instructions in such cases.”
How did the children react?
“Of course, they were scared but acted like heroes. We’ve been here for 13 years and are used to similar situations, but this time the earthquake was very strong. There are casualties and missing people, numbers have not been released yet. As far as Israelis and members of the Jewish community know, it seems that all the members are accounted for.”
It turns out that earthquakes are common in Taiwan, but the current earthquake was exceptional in its intensity and caused many casualties. The Shliach reports that in the epicenter, in the city of Hualien, there are casualties and trapped individuals, and several buildings have collapsed. Even in Taipei itself, there are rockfalls on the sides of the roads and extensive damage to property, as seen in footage captured by one of Chabad’s acquaintances on the outskirts of the roads this morning.
Rabbi Levi Srugo, who directs the Young Jewish Professionals of Chabad of Taiwan, says that Israelis and members of the Jewish community are safe, as far as is known at this stage. Heavy damage has been done to property. Two Israelis were stuck in one of the partially collapsed tunnels and have already been safely rescued.
The Shliach is in touch with the family members of an elderly Jewish couple, parents of an Israeli student, who were stuck in the earthquake area and awaiting rescue, but thankfully, as far as everyone knows, they are safe.
“Since morning, I’ve been receiving calls from Israel to check on family members in the country, and we are working on trying to assist as much as possible,” says Rabbi Tabib.
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