Taiwan on Wednesday assessed the damage after a strong earthquake measuring 7,1 rocked the country, killing two people and wounding at least 42.
Hundreds of rescuers were dispatched to the worst-hit Pingtung area in southern Taiwan where at least three houses were reported to have collapsed and other buildings also suffered damage.
The tremor triggered a series of aftershocks, with the latest being reported at 10.30am local time on Wednesday with a magnitude of 5,9, the central weather bureau said.
One victim was a mother who died apparently trying to protect her twin sons.
Fang Shu-chuan (36) was shielding the seven-year-old twins with her body when the three-storey furniture shop where they lived collapsed.
One of the boys was seriously hurt and the other suffered minor injuries.
Fang’s 34-year-old brother also died in the disaster.
At least other 42 people suffered injures in the quake and aftershocks.
People in Pingtung rushed into the streets in panic during the tremors, which triggered power blackouts in over 3 000 households.
The central weather bureau said Tuesday’s quake was the most powerful in a century in the Pingtung region.
High-rise buildings all over Taiwan rattled and telephone services in southern parts of the island were disrupted. An elementary school in the mountain region was closed due to falling rocks.
Road and rail traffic was also affected by the blackouts.
The Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation, currently on trial, halted one south-bound ”bullet train” to Kaohsiung but its services in northern Taiwan were unaffected, a company spokesperson said.
Internet connections across the Asia-Pacific region were affected due to damage caused by the earthquake to undersea data cables.
The United States Geological Survey said the quake struck 10km under the sea, about 90km from Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
The Taiwan central weather bureau reported one strong quake and a series of smaller ones. — AFP
