This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/07/world/asia/taiwan-earthquake-tainan.html

The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Rescue Efforts Continue After Earthquake in Taiwan Rescue Efforts Continue After Earthquake in Taiwan
(about 2 hours later)
TAINAN, Taiwan — Firefighters and soldiers were clambering through the rubble of a 17-story apartment building and pulling survivors to safety Saturday afternoon, hours after a strong earthquake shook this city in southwestern Taiwan before dawn. TAINAN, Taiwan — Firefighters and soldiers clambered through the rubble of a 17-story apartment building and pulled survivors to safety Saturday afternoon, after a strong earthquake shook this city in southwestern Taiwan before dawn.
At least seven people were killed and more than 400 injured in the quake, according to Taiwan’s National Fire Agency. The authorities said several people in the collapsed apartment building were still unaccounted for. But most of Tainan, a city of 1.8 million, seemed to be unscathed by the quake. A doctor said many of the injuries had been minor. The quake killed at least 11 people, nine of whom had been in the apartment building, said Liu Shih-chung, the city’s deputy secretary general. About 400 people were injured, but most were quickly treated at hospitals and released, Mr. Liu said in an interview.
Most of Tainan, a city of 1.8 million, seemed to be unscathed by the quake. Rescue efforts focused on the apartment building, and Mr. Liu said its collapse would be investigated. “There must be something wrong particularly about the structure of that building,” he said, declining to speculate further.
Tainan residents said the tremor had felt considerably stronger than any they could remember on this island where earthquakes are frequent. At a magnitude of 6.4, according to the United States Geological Survey, the quake was not especially intense, but it was very shallow — just 6.2 miles deep — and shallow earthquakes frequently do more damage at the surface.Tainan residents said the tremor had felt considerably stronger than any they could remember on this island where earthquakes are frequent. At a magnitude of 6.4, according to the United States Geological Survey, the quake was not especially intense, but it was very shallow — just 6.2 miles deep — and shallow earthquakes frequently do more damage at the surface.
Wu Fongfa, a cake shop manager in Tainan, said she was awakened by a loud noise, followed by shaking so intense that it ruptured the water main outside her building, flooding the street calf-deep in water. The quake was “the biggest one I’ve ever experienced. It was like nothing I’ve ever felt before,” said Ms. Wu, 52.Wu Fongfa, a cake shop manager in Tainan, said she was awakened by a loud noise, followed by shaking so intense that it ruptured the water main outside her building, flooding the street calf-deep in water. The quake was “the biggest one I’ve ever experienced. It was like nothing I’ve ever felt before,” said Ms. Wu, 52.
The 17-story apartment building, located down the street from Ms. Wu’s shop, toppled on its side, prompting an extensive rescue effort by firefighters and soldiers that was continuing Saturday afternoon. Children were passed hand to hand down a human chain along the side of the building, and rescuers helped adults climb down fire ladders. The 17-story apartment building, located down the street from Ms. Wu’s shop, fell on its side, prompting an extensive rescue effort by firefighters and soldiers. Children were passed hand to hand down a human chain along the side of the building, and rescuers helped adults climb down fire ladders.
A long row of soldiers prevented onlookers from approaching the base of the building. Reinforcing steel bars stuck out horizontally from the building where it had separated from its foundation.A long row of soldiers prevented onlookers from approaching the base of the building. Reinforcing steel bars stuck out horizontally from the building where it had separated from its foundation.
Nearby, a middle-aged woman in a purple parka cried softly. “I have several family members inside,” said the woman, who declined to give her name. “They haven’t come out, we’ve been waiting here, and you can see some of us are weeping because we don’t have any news of our family.”Nearby, a middle-aged woman in a purple parka cried softly. “I have several family members inside,” said the woman, who declined to give her name. “They haven’t come out, we’ve been waiting here, and you can see some of us are weeping because we don’t have any news of our family.”
The authorities said five of the seven people known to have died in the quake were in the collapsed building. Another 252 people had been rescued from it. They were still trying to determine the status of four people who were registered as living in the building but had not yet been found. Hours later, Mr. Liu, Tainan’s fifth-ranking municipal official, said that all 256 people who were registered as living in the building had been accounted for. But he said search efforts would continue into the night and the coming days, to account for the possibility that the building may have contained unregistered people, such as houseguests for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.
“We hope to find out as quickly as possible how many people are still in the building and where they are,” Interior Minister Chen Wei-zen said at a news briefing early Saturday afternoon. Residents said the building, which had been the tallest structure in the area, was built before a 1999 earthquake in central Taiwan that killed more than 2,000 people. That earthquake prompted a tightening of building standards across Taiwan. Mr. Liu confirmed that the building was more than 20 years old.
By midafternoon, rescue workers were still pulling survivors from the building. Two young women were carried on stretchers into ambulances, which sped off with sirens blaring to one of the hospitals that had been placed on alert; the women’s eyes were closed, and their condition was unclear.
Residents said the building, which had been the tallest structure in the area, was built before a 1999 earthquake in central Taiwan that killed more than 2,000 people. That earthquake prompted a tightening of building standards across Taiwan.
Online, some people questioned how the building could have had such a catastrophic failure. Mr. Chen said the cause of its collapse, and whether the architects and builders bore any responsibility, would be investigated.
As ambulances brought the injured to local hospitals, long lines formed at local blood donation centers. “I know blood is always in short supply; this is the only thing I can do to help those who have been hurt,” said Chen Sunffy, a 23-year-old saleswoman, as she waited in a four-hour line to donate.As ambulances brought the injured to local hospitals, long lines formed at local blood donation centers. “I know blood is always in short supply; this is the only thing I can do to help those who have been hurt,” said Chen Sunffy, a 23-year-old saleswoman, as she waited in a four-hour line to donate.
But Dr. Hung Chung-jye, the chief surgeon at National Cheng Kung University Hospital in Tainan, the largest of several hospitals that treated patients from the quake, said injuries had mostly been minor. The hospital treated and immediately discharged 52 people who had been lightly injured in the tremor, and it admitted just 13 people, Dr. Hung said in an interview. Only four of those patients required surgery, for various fractures, and none were put in intensive care, he said. But Dr. Hung Chung-jye, the chief surgeon at National Cheng Kung University Hospital in Tainan, the largest of several hospitals that treated patients from the quake, said injuries had mostly been minor. The hospital treated and immediately discharged 52 people who had been lightly injured in the tremor, and it admitted just 13 people, Dr. Hung said in an interview. Only four of those patients required surgery, for various fractures, and not one was put in intensive care, he said.
The hospital had called in 50 extra doctors and 150 extra nurses in anticipation of more patients, with the result that there were no delays in care, Dr. Hung said.The hospital had called in 50 extra doctors and 150 extra nurses in anticipation of more patients, with the result that there were no delays in care, Dr. Hung said.
The quake left about 500 people homeless, half of them from the collapsed apartment building, and local hotels have agreed to give them free lodging for several days, Mr. Liu said.
Foreign governments, including Japan’s and Singapore’s, offered assistance, but Mr. Liu said it was not needed. “We have enough people to do it because we only focus on one collapsed building, not an area,” he said.
The earthquake disrupted travel in Taiwan just before the start of the Lunar New Year holiday, when large numbers of people journey between the island’s largest cities on the west coast to join family. Early Saturday, the Ministry of Transportation suspended operation of Taiwan’s popular high-speed rail service in the southern half of the island due to damage to the tracks about 20 miles north of Tainan, adding to congestion on the already-choked roads.The earthquake disrupted travel in Taiwan just before the start of the Lunar New Year holiday, when large numbers of people journey between the island’s largest cities on the west coast to join family. Early Saturday, the Ministry of Transportation suspended operation of Taiwan’s popular high-speed rail service in the southern half of the island due to damage to the tracks about 20 miles north of Tainan, adding to congestion on the already-choked roads.