April 4, 2024
TAIPEI – Since I was posted to Taiwan 1½ years ago, I have felt a number of minor tremors.
They were usually over within seconds, and sometimes so mild that I could not be sure if they were earthquakes.
On the morning of April 3, however, the ceiling lamp in my New Taipei apartment swayed violently. My glass room divider rattled.
My mug did not tip over, but almost all the milk tea inside it flew out and spilt across my table.
I admit, I was terrified.
The floor shook hard for what felt like an entire minute.
As a Singaporean who had never experienced this, I realised I should have been better prepared on what to do. Should I have left the building instead of staying put? I wasn’t sure.
During the next hour, I experienced at least six more aftershocks. One never gets used to them, I thought.
The magnitude-7.4 earthquake that had struck the waters off Hualien county in eastern Taiwan is the island’s strongest in 25 years, killing nine people and injuring more than 900.
In 1999, a magnitude-7.6 earthquake hit central Taiwan in the middle of the night and killed more than 2,400 people.
The April 3 temblor struck at a depth of 15.5km shortly before 8am, just as people were heading to work and school, setting off a tsunami warning for southern Japan and the Philippines that was later lifted.
Local TV news outlets flashed horrifying footage of collapsed buildings in Hualien, with reports of people, including a young boy, trapped inside the structures for hours before being pulled out.
Massive landslides were also triggered throughout Hualien’s mountains, with a viral video clip showing how one caused huge dust clouds to billow up into the sky.
Known for its picturesque natural landscapes, including the famous Taroko National Park, Hualien is a popular travel destination among tourists, hikers and cyclists.
I rushed to New Taipei’s Banqiao train station with hopes of securing a ticket to the region to cover the story, but soon discovered that it would be impossible. All train and bus services there were cancelled for the day, and it was unclear when they would resume.
The exit of a key tunnel on the highway leading to Hualien was reportedly blocked by large boulders that had fallen from the surrounding mountains.
Back in Banqiao, travellers were visibly disappointed by the disruption to their travel plans.
With no clarity on when transport services would resume, their trips would likely be affected ahead of the four-day long weekend that begins on April 4, which is both Children’s Day and the Qing Ming Festival, when families gather to honour the departed.
Although damage from the earthquake in the greater Taipei region was mild compared with Hualien, it was startling to spot cracked walls and fallen tiles in and around the capital.
Still, structures are generally safe because they are built to withstand large earthquakes.
Taiwan boosted the earthquake resistance level of buildings following the 1999 disaster, such as by using better construction materials and improving building reinforcement practices.
While most of the city’s metro services had resumed after stopping for about 40 minutes, the yellow circular line remained suspended at press time after one section of the overhead track fell out of alignment.
Meanwhile, a popular beef noodle restaurant in the busy Shida Night Market area in Taipei saw its shopfront destroyed when a water tank fell from five floors above, crushing the store’s signs and its ground-floor roof overhang.
The restaurant’s owner, who declined to be named, said that she was worried about being crushed. Fortunately, no one was injured.
Residents of the neighbourhood huddled nearby to take photos and observe the damage.
One young child exclaimed: “Was that shop torn down on purpose, or does it look like that because of the earthquake?”
Over at the five-star Howard Plaza Hotel, a 10-minute drive away, a corner of the building was cordoned off after tiles fell from its exterior walls.
There were visible cracks in the walls of the 40-year-old building. A spokesperson for the hotel told local reporters that it has contacted the authorities and put in place safety measures.
Even though hotel staff have since cleared the debris, signs warning passers-by to be careful of falling objects were put up.
A letter “a” in the sign for the hotel’s name was askew and looked to be on the verge of dropping off, though it is unclear if it was already loose beforehand or if it was due to the earthquake.
The visibly marred facade of the hotel, situated in a busy intersection of Taipei’s Da’an district, drew stares from many pedestrians and cyclists.
Inside the hotel lobby, however, it looked like business as usual as guests sipped on tea and chatted happily.
Indeed, that was what it was like in the city the rest of the day.
Downtown metro stations were packed after office hours as excited workers rushed to begin their holiday.
Hotpot restaurants were fully booked and queues began forming outside karaoke outlets.
Looking at their calm smiling faces, it was hard to imagine that a powerful earthquake had just struck their homes earlier in the morning.
Still, the tremors did trigger some memories for New Taipei taxi driver Wu Ming-da, who vividly remembers feeling the effects of that tragic 1999 earthquake.
“That happened in the middle of the night, so it was even scarier than today’s,” he said of the previous disaster that destroyed more than 50,000 buildings and triggered more than 130 landslides.
“This morning, my TV set nearly fell down. I tidied up my apartment and am now ready to start work.”