Photo courtesy of CEphoto, Uwe Aranas via The Interpreter.
Elizabeth Murray ’26
Global Editor
Taiwan was rocked by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that killed nine people and injured over 1,000.
The earthquake struck Hualien County on April 3, BBC News reported. The earthquake was the largest to hit Taiwan in 25 years and caused tsunami alerts in Japan and the Philippines. In September 1999, the island was struck by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that killed 2,400 people.
According to The New York Times, buildings in Taipei shook for over a minute, and in Hualien, dozens of buildings sustained damage. Tremors were felt as far away as Shanghai, and in Hualien, 93 people were left stranded, including several working in two separate rock quarries.
The earthquake hit during peak rush hour but did not delay traffic for too long due to Taiwan’s earthquake preparation measures and frequent updates to building regulations to ensure its structures can withstand them, AP News reported.
There has been support for earthquake drills in schools and offices, and there already exists an extensive media and cellphone notification system to alert people when an earthquake strikes. Power was restored quickly after the earthquake, and neither of the country's two nuclear power plants sustained damages, according to Reuters.
An unlikely star has emerged from the earthquake: Roger, the search and rescue dog, AccuWeather reported. The labrador retriever failed his drug-sniffing training because of his “overly friendly and playful” nature becoming a rescue dog instead. He and his handlers were dispatched to Taroko National Park to recover the bodies of those who went missing during the earthquake.
According to AP News, Taiwan is prone to earthquakes because of its location in the “Ring of Fire.” This region in the Pacific is where 90% of the world’s earthquakes occur, extending from New Zealand up through East Asia and down through western North and South America. The mountain ranges in this region can also heighten the shaking, leading to mudslides.