A major earthquake has resulted in two fatalities and at least 100 injuries in the city of Hualien on Taiwan’s east coast.
The News Lens
Date: 2018/02/07
By: David Green
Rescue efforts are underway as emergency services scramble to reach people potentially trapped in a partially collapsed hotel building after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck close to the city of Hualien on Taiwan’s east coastline Tuesday night.
Taiwan’s Executive Yuan confirmed in the early hours of Tuesday that two people had died and more than 100 had been injured as a result of the disaster, even as rescue operations continue. Casualties have been taken to various local hospitals.
The Marshal Hotel on Gongyuan Road in Hualien City suffered major subsidence to the extent that the fourth floor is now level with the first floor. The Parkview Hotel and a residential complex, No. 41 Guosheng Sixth Street, are also reported to have tilted significantly under the force of the tremor.
A residential complex has also tilted at a 45 degree angle on its axis, while two major bridges have also cracked and are closed due to the damage. Reports continue to come in of other damage inflicted on buildings and critical infrastructure.
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