A powerful earthquake of magnitude greater than 7 left at least nine dead and more than a thousand injured in Taiwan on Wednesday, April 3, in addition to damage to dozens of buildings and tsunami warnings on the coast of East Asia, finally discarded.
Taiwanese authorities said that The earthquake and its followingshocks were the most intense on this island in 25 years, and warned that more tremors may occur in the coming days.
All the deaths occurred in Hualien county, the closest point to the epicenter of the earthquake in the east of the island, the fire department said. In addition, the source revised upwards the number of injured, whose balance now stands at 1,111 people, but the severity of the injuries was not specified.
Three of the fatalities were crushed to death by rocks while hiking, and three others died in their vehicles, hit by avalanches. One person died in a quarry, according to the first details provided by the authorities.
“Everything was shaking violently. The pictures on the wall, the television and the liquor cabinet fell,” a resident of Hualien city told local television. SET TV.
Local media showed numerous multi-story buildings in Hualien tilted dangerously following the shaking.
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In New Taipei City in the north, a warehouse collapsed, but more than 60 people emerged from the rubble alive, the mayor said.
“It was like a mountain collapsed,” said Liu, who lives next to the warehouse, where a printing press operated.
The strongest in 25 years
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) indicated that the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.4 and occurred just before 8:00 a.m. local time (00:00 GMT). The Taiwanese meteorological agency estimated the magnitude at 7.2, while the Japanese meteorological agency calibrated it at 7.5.
The epicenter was located 18 kilometers south of Hualien, with a depth of 34.8 km, the USGS indicated.
“The earthquake was close to the ground and is shallow. It was felt throughout Taiwan and the islands (…). It is the strongest in 25 years,” Wu Chien-fu, director of the Taiwanese Seismological Center, told reporters.
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Protagonist nurses
During the earthquake in Taiwan, a group of nurses who were in a hospital helped several newborn babies.
A video captured by the hospital’s security cameras that was spread and viralized on social networks, shows the moment when a group of nurses arrived at the place where the incubators were and protected several babies.
According to international media, health personnel were concerned that a window near the room where the babies were kept might break and injure them. From that account, the nurses tried to keep the cribs still while the earthquake occurred. In addition, it was revealed that the nurses protected the maximum possible number of newborn babies with their bodies from a possible risk of collapse.
#Taiwan Taiwanese nurses bravely protected babies pic.twitter.com/FTsh3YStvx
— Juan Carlos (@juan196955) April 3, 2024
#record #moment #nurses #protect #newborn #babies #earthquake #Taiwan
