Taiwan Earthquake

[Krauser]

Taiwan earthquake: ‘the lucky one’ survives second deadly tremor and recalls terror of 1999 disaster that killed 2,400 people

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 06 February, 2016, 11:33pm
UPDATED : Saturday, 06 February, 2016, 11:35pm

Lawrence Chung in Taipei and Kathy Gao

A survivor prays for the safe return of other people who are still missing after Saturday’s deadly earthquake that struck the city of Tainan in Taiwan. Photo: EPA

A middle-aged housewife who survived Taiwan’s devastating 1999 earthquake that killed about 2,400 people has spoken of her horror after living through her second deadly earthquake on Saturday.

The woman, who identified herself only by her surname of Chien, was asleep with her husband and daughter in their sixth floor flat in the 16-storey Wei Guan residential complex when it collapsed after a magnitude-6.4 quake struck the southern city of Tainan just before dawn.

“I was trapped in badly damaged bedroom, along with my husband and daughter,” Chien told the Central News Agency.

Rescue workers search a collapsed building on Saturday morning after the deadly earthquake in the city of Tainan in Taiwan. Photo: AP

She said she thought they were all going to die as the result of a gas explosion because the smell of gas escaping from broken pipes was thick in the air. “Although my home was once again destroyed, I still feel lucky as all three of us were saved,” she said.

The family of three were finally rescued from the rubble after being trapped for three hours.

Chien added: “I lived in Wufeng when the biggest earthquake in 100 years rocked central Taiwan on September 21, 1999.

“I couldn’t believe that I had to encounter another serious quake after getting married and then moving to Tainan.”

The Wei Guan building toppled over on its side, with the upper floors collapsing on one another like a folding accordion.

A teenage woman living few storeys above Chien, who lay trapped with her mother under a bed following the building’s collapse, told Taiwanese media that she had drunk her own urine after starting to panic when she became thirsty.

She said they started to worry that it might take rescuers a long time to rescue them so her mother suggested she drink her own urine, Central News Agency said. But after two hours the teenager and her mother were among the first group of 34 residents that were rescued by firefighters.

Meanwhile, a pet cat was said to have acted as a “guardian angel” and helped to save a seven-year-old boy trapped in the building, ETTV, the Taiwanese cable TV network reported.

The cat caught the attention of a rescuer when it kept meowing on a balcony amid the rubble, a rescuer told ETTV. “I saw something moving on the balcony and then heard the meowing,”he said, adding that he then cut open the iron bars of a window and found the boy sitting crying on the balcony’s floor.

Mainlander Wang Mingyang, who was on visit from Jilin province, said he was woken up by the tremors at 4am on Saturday while in a hotel in Kaohsiung,near the quake’s epicentre.

“The hotel building was shaking violently,” Wang said. “I felt I was about to die.”

He said was in Taiwan to spend Lunar New Year with his Taiwanese girlfriend. “The earthquake was not how I imagined it would be,” he said. “The floor was tilting and the lamps and stuff on the table were all moving. Some things fell off the table.”

Wang and his girlfriend drove to Taipei by bus on Saturday after train services were suspended.

 

[Krauser]

Building collapse during deadly Taiwan earthquake linked to shoddy materials

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 06 February, 2016, 11:09pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 07 February, 2016, 12:09am

Lawrence Chung in Taipei

Rescuers work at the site of the collapsed building in Tainan, after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit neighbouring Kaohsiung on Saturday. Photo: Xinhua

Taiwanese authorities are to launch an investigation into the construction materials used in a high-rise residential building that collapsed after a deadly earthquake struck the southern city of Tainan just before dawn on Saturday.

At least 12 people, including a 10-day-old girl, were killed and 475 others injured after the shallow, magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck the south of the island, triggering the dramatic collapse of the building while neighbouring properties showed little damage.

“We will come to this issue shortly after we complete our rescue operation, which is still the first priority at the moment,” Tainan Mayor Lai Ching-te said.

Ten people in the building were killed following the quake, while two other people in the city died after being hit by falling debris.

Local media reported that shoddy building materials, including empty tins and Styrofoam that had been used as filler in wall beams, could be one reason why the 16-storey Wei Guan residential block – which included a care centre for newborns – collapsed so easily.

The building’s floors fell straight down onto one another other, with the lowest floors collapsing into a pile of rubble and twisted metal after the quake struck at 3.57 am at the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday weekend.

Crushed vehicles are seen under a building in Tainan that was damaged by the earthquake. Photo: Reuters

The Tainan City Government said 261 people, based in 96 units, were residents of the building at the time of the collapse. So far, 258 people have been pulled from the rubble. Ten of them, including the baby, died on the way to hospital, the city government said.

Rescuers are still looking for three other residents that remain missing. Aided by search dogs and life detecting devices, the rescuers are frantically searching through the ruins.

“As eight people are still unaccounted for, we are doing everything we can to look for survivors,” a firefighter, who was part of the rescue team told reporters.

More than 1,230 rescuers, including 840 soldiers, have been deployed as part of the rescue operation, the central disaster response centre said.

The epicentre of the quake, which reportedly had the power equivalent to two atomic bombs, was actually located 45 km away from Tainan in Meilung, in Kaohsiung City, Kuo Chi-wen, director of the earthquake centre under the Central Weather Bureau, said.

“But Tainan was hit hardest of all because it is a big terrain with relatively soft geological formation. The impact tends to be amplified when it is a shallow earthquake,” Kuo said.

The shockwave in Tainan was reported to have lasted 44 seconds, compared with one of less than 20 seconds in Kaohsiung, the earthquake centre said.

The Tainan government said the quake had led to the collapse of nine buildings, including Wei Guan, and damaged five others in the city. Two people had been killed by falling objects during the tremor, but no residents in other buildings in the city had been killed.

Johanna Ma, a Hong Kong resident who was in Tainan visiting her-in-laws with her husband at the time the quake struck, told the South China Morning Post she felt as if someone was shaking her violently during the quake.

“I thought someone had grabbed me by the shoulders and was shaking me violently as I slept,” he said. “After five seconds, I realised it was a giant earthquake.

“We quickly grabbed a few belongings and walked down 12 flights of stairs. We drove to a building that had collapsed near our home in the eastern district of the city. We saw that the second floor had sunk to ground level and the first floor had disappeared.”

Kate Chou, who runs a hostel in Tainan, described Saturday’s tremor as the “return” of the 1999 devastating earthquake.

“I was on my way to the bathroom when the earthquake struck,” she said. “The ground was not only moving sideways, but up and down as well. It felt like the September 21 earthquake had returned.”

The deadly 7.6-magnitude quake of September 21, 1999 killed about 2,400 people in the deadliest natural disaster in the island’s recent history.

Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou ordered an all-out effort to help people in need following the quake. China’s Premier Li Keqiang also expressed his concern about the disaster, while the mainland government has offered to send help to aid Taiwan’s rescue efforts.

Additional reporting: Samuel Chan, Phoenix Man-ki Kwong and Kathy Gao

 

[Krauser]

Young girl rescued two days after Taiwan quake; toll could exceed 100

An eight-year-old girl pulled out alive from the rubble of a Taiwan apartment block on Monday more than 60 hours after it was toppled by an earthquake

PUBLISHED : Monday, 08 February, 2016, 7:53pm
UPDATED : Monday, 08 February, 2016, 10:25pm

Agencies in Tainan, Taiwan

Rescue personnel bring down a Vietnamese national, identified as 28-year old Chen Mei-Jih, to safety after she was extracted from the rubble at the Wei-Kuan complex. Photo: AFP

Rescuers pulled out an eight-year-old girl alive from the rubble of a Taiwan apartment block on Monday more than 60 hours after it was toppled by an earthquake, as the mayor of the southern city of Tainan warned the death toll could exceed 100.

The official death toll from the quake rose to at least 38, with more than 100 people missing.

The girl, named as Lin Su-Chin, was conscious and had been taken to hospital, Taiwan television stations said, adding there were possibly two other people still alive in the wrecked building.

Mayor William Lai Ching-Te told reporters he briefly exchanged words with Lin.

“She is awake, but looks dehydrated, lost some temperature but she’s awake and her blood pressure is OK,” he said. “I asked her if there’s anything wrong with her body. She shook her head.”

Shortly afterward, rescue workers also pulled out a 28-year-old Vietnamese woman, identified as Chen Mei-jih, who had been trapped on what was the building’s fifth floor.

A 14-year-old girl is pulled out of the wreckage of the 17-storey building which collapsed after the earthquake rubble. Photo: Reuters

The quake struck at about 4 a.m. on Saturday (2000 GMT Friday) at the beginning of the Lunar New Year holiday, with almost all the dead found in Tainan’s toppled Wei-guan Golden Dragon Building.

Rescue efforts are focused on the wreckage of the 17-storey building, where more than 100 people are listed as missing and are suspected to be buried deep under the rubble.

Earlier, Wang Ting-yu, a legislator who represents the area, told reporters that a woman, identified as Tsao Wei-ling, was found alive lying under her dead husband. Their two-year-old son, who was also killed, was found lying nearby.

Another survivor, a man named Li Tsung-tian, was pulled out later, with Taiwan television stations showing live images of the rescues. Several hours later, Li’s girlfriend was found dead in the rubble.

Tsao and Li were both being treated in hospital.

A 17-storey apartment building which collapsed after an earthquake is seen during sunset in Tainan, southern Taiwan. Photo: Reuters

Family members of the missing flooded into the information center in search of their loved ones or to wait anxiously.

Tensions rose as some relatives, losing patience, demanded to speak to rescue workers directly to get the latest information.

A couple sitting in a small room where officials release information said they had heard no news about their son and his family, including their young grandsons.

Mayor Lai earlier said during a visit to a funeral home that rescue efforts had entered what he called the “third stage”.

“There are more fatalities than those pulled out (alive), and the number of fatalities will probably exceed 100,” Lai told reporters.

Rescuers continued to scramble over the twisted wreckage of the building as numbed family members stood around, waiting for news of missing relatives.

Taiwan's president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (C) talks to relatives at a mass funeral for earthquake victims at Tainan, southern Taiwan. Photo: Reuters

Taiwan’s government said in a statement 36 of the 38 dead were from the Wei-guan building, which was built in 1994.

The spectacular fall of the high-rise raised questions about whether its construction had been shoddy. The government says it will investigate whether the developer cut corners.

Reuters witnesses at the scene of the collapse saw large rectangular, commercial cans of cooking-oil packed inside wall cavities exposed by the damage, apparently having been used as building material.

Cooking oil cans, apparently having been used as building material, are seen in the debris of a 17-storey apartment building which collapsed after an earthquake hit Tainan, southern Taiwan. Photo: Reuters

The extended Lunar New Year holiday officially started Monday, but celebrations were subdued and both President Ma Ying-jeou and President-elect Tsai Ing-wen canceled the traditional handing out of envelopes of cash in their hometowns.

Tsai Ing-wen, who won election last month, said there needed to be a “general sorting out” of old buildings to make sure they were able to cope with disasters like earthquakes.

“There needs to be a continued strengthening of their ability to deal with disasters,” she said.

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou prays at a mass funeral for earthquake victims at Tainan, southern Taiwan. Photo: Reuters

Outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou, speaking to reporters at a Tainan hospital, said the government needed to be a better job in ensuring building quality.

“In the near future, regarding building management, we will have some further improvements. We will definitely do this work well,” Ma said.

Across Taiwan Strait, President Xi Jinping also conveyed condolences to the victims, state news agency Xinhua reported late on Sunday, and repeated Beijing’s offer to provide help.

Beijing views self-ruled Taiwan as a wayward province, to be bought under its control by force if necessary, after Kuomintang lost the civil war in 1949 and retreated to Taiwan.

Reuters, Associated Press

 

[Krauser]

Each quake victim's family to get NT$1 million: premier

Central News Agency
2016-02-10 05:41 PM

Taipei, Feb. 10 (CNA) The government will pay NT$1 million (US$29,913) in "condolence money" to the families of each victim of a magnitude 6.4 earthquake that hit southern Taiwan early on Feb. 6, Premier Simon Chang said on Wednesday.

The government will get the funds into people's hands as soon as possible, Chang said after visiting Tainan, where almost all of the quake damage occurred, including 10 buildings that collapsed.

About 94 people (73 adults and 21 minors) are still believed to be trapped in the rubble of the Weiguan Jinlong apartment complex in Yongkang District, the source of almost all of the casualties resulting from the earthquake.

As of early Wednesday afternoon, 44 of the 46 confirmed deaths resulting from the earthquake occurred in the collapsed 16-story residential building, while some 216 people have been rescued.

Another 548 people were injured by the quake, according to official figures. Chang also asked government agencies nationwide to fly the national flag at half-mast on Feb. 15, the day when offices in Taiwan will reopen after a nine-day Lunar New Year holiday.

The government also offered NT$1 million in "condolence money" to the families of each victim of the magnitude 7.3 earthquake that struck Nantou County on September 21, 1999.

That earthquake killed more than 2,400 people and left more than 11,300 injured. (By Lu Hsin-hui, Yang Sz-ruei and Kuo Chung-han)

 

[Krauser]

47 killed in devastating earthquake in southern Taiwan

2016/02/10 20:16:36

Taipei, Feb. 10 (CNA) The body of a six-year-old boy was found dead Wednesday afternoon, bringing the death toll of a magnitude 6.4 earthquake that jolted southern Taiwan on Feb. 6 to 47, according to data compiled by the National Fire Agency.

As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, another 548 people had been injured, according to the official data.

The quake caused 10 buildings collapsed in Tainan City.

Forty-five of the 47 confirmed deaths resulting from the earthquake occurred in a collapsed apartment complex, called the Weiguan Jinlong, in Tainan's Yongkang District.

More than 90 people are still believed to be trapped in the rubble of the collapsed 16-story building, according to Tainan City government.

(By Chen Yi-wei and Kuo Chung-han; click here for the full coverage of the earthquke aftermath.)

 

[Krauser]

Tainan identifies 50 buildings as dangerous after quake

2016/02/10 19:17:35

Taipei, Feb. 10 (CNA) Tainan, the city that was hardest hit by an earthquake that rattled southern Taiwan on Feb. 6, identified 50 buildings in the city as dangerous on Wednesday following inspections requested by local residents.

Tainan's Public Works Bureau said the bureau received about 200 requests from city residents who were shaken by the collapse of more than 10 buildings triggered by the magnitude 6.4 quake.

Among the collapsed buildings, the Weiguan Jinlong apartment complex took the biggest toll.

Of the 46 deaths in southern Taiwan attributed to the earthquake to date, 44 were killed in the 16-story complex toppled by the earthquake. Another 94 people are still believed to be trapped in the complex's rubble.

After receiving requests from anxious residents who feared their buildings could be damaged by another earthquake, the bureau worked with civil engineers and structural experts to conduct visual inspections of those buildings.

Following the inspection, 31 of the 50 buildings found to be dangerous were given "red" labels, meaning they will have to either be torn down or immediately reinforced based on the degree of the damage, the bureau said.

The remaining 19 buildings were given "yellow" labels, meaning there have been objects falling off the buildings, and major cracks have appeared that need to be repaired before the structures can be used again, the bureau added.

Some of the 50 dangerous buildings are public housing units, while others do not have any residents.

The bureau said it will inspect these 50 buildings again in the near future and request the owners of private buildings to deal with the problems identified as soon as possible.

(By Wang Shu-fen and Frances Huang; click here for the full coverage of the earthquke aftermath.)

 

[Krauser]

Taiwan mourns earthquake victims as families demand justice

AFP
February 15, 2016, 10:07 pm

Taipei (AFP) - Flags flew at half-mast across Taiwan Monday as the island mourned more than 100 people who died when an earthquake toppled an apartment complex, as families demanded justice.

Many residents of the 16-storey Wei-kuan complex in the southern city of Tainan were buried in rubble after the 6.4-magnitude quake on February 6.

Rescuers called off the search for survivors over the weekend after all the missing were accounted for.

All but two of the 116 dead were from the building. More than 380 people were inside the complex on the night of the quake.

Lunar new year celebrations scheduled by government agencies were called off Monday, and Tainan's government sought the freezing of further assets belonging to the developer and architects of the building.

Anger is growing over accusations of shoddy building work -- prosecutors have said there were flaws in the building including inadequate steel reinforcement bars, and the developer is among three men facing charges over the disaster.

Frustration grew after photos of rubble at the site showed foam and tin cans had been used as filling in concrete structures.

"The developer really had no conscience constructing such a building. He should be severely punished," Liu Kun-min, whose brother, sister-in-law and two sons were killed in the quake, told the Apple Daily newspaper.

Tainan's city government on Monday sought to freeze Tw$220 million ($6.6 million) in assets belonging to nine people -- among them the developer Lin Ming-hui, his shareholders, two architects and a contractor.

The government is acting on behalf of 93 families involved in the collapse.

"The developer left so many people dead and homeless," a man surnamed Chang, who was pulled out from the rubble, told Apple Daily.

"We certainly want compensation. It's good to see the Tainan city government take more active steps to freeze their assets."

Lin and architects Cheng Chin-kui and Chang Kui-pao, as well as a contractor linked to the building, have already seen Tw$30 million in assets frozen by the Tainan district court last week at the request of the city government.

Lin, Cheng and Chang are in custody and facing charges of professional negligence.

A further Tw$10 million was frozen by the court at the request of the non-profit Legal Aid Foundation acting for two people who were severely injured.

"They are angry and frustrated, they want the three to be brought to justice," Emilia Hsieh, spokeswoman for the foundation, told AFP.

Hsiao Po-jen, head of the city government's legal affairs, said Monday that a relative of architect Cheng had been stopped trying to withdraw more than Tw$10 million from his bank account.