In the midst of the followingshocks following the earthquake in Taiwan, Samantha Catún, a Guatemalan resident in the Asian country, shared her experience and told Free Press y Guatevision what he experienced during the earthquake and the post-emergency response.
“The movement was strong, it shook everything,” he recalled regarding the first moments in which he noticed that the ground was moving. At first he thought it was the movement of trucks from Walsin Energy, the manufacturing company where he works, but then he realized it was the earthquake.
The epicenter of the earthquake, of magnitude 7.2, was located on the east coast of the island, in a mountainous region and smaller cities. Right in that area is the province of Hualien, the most affected and only 25 kilometers from the point where the earthquake originated.
The impact was strongly felt in areas such as Taipei, right in the capital of Taiwan where Samantha resides, although the damage there was minor.
The Guatemalan lives regarding 200 kilometers from the epicenter, but she clearly perceived the strong tremor in the city, up to the northern part, where even buildings and the subway were affected.
According to him, when the island shook for the first time, the work day was just beginning. His most immediate reaction, along with 30 other of his colleagues, was to stay inside a room. They quickly placed themselves under their desks to try to protect themselves, while the walls of the factory were finished shaking.
“Faced with the earthquake, my first reaction was to apply what I learned in Guatemala, where we are familiar with tremors. I decided to wait, hoping that the movement would calm down; however, when it intensified, we made the decision to take refuge under the desks to protect ourselves,” Samantha recalled.
After the earthquake, communication routes in the capital were cut, as detailed: “In the subway, for example, or in some overpasses, everything did move.” With this statement, Samantha described that the movement was so intense that it affected the transportation infrastructure.
“I was at work when the earthquake happened, but when I returned home in the followingnoon, and I saw that furniture had fallen and that my things were in disarray, then I noticed that yes, it was quite strong—the earthquake—,” he described the Guatemalan
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While chaos was evident in the most affected areas, calm prevailed in the cities. Samantha highlighted how the Taiwanese government maintained constant communication with the population, providing statements regarding the followingshocks and security measures.
The community’s reaction to the tragedy has varied, between tranquility in the city, but always in solidarity with those affected in the coastal area that was most impacted.
“The mobilization of rescue teams and the coordination of the response was efficient, although there were victims trapped in collapsed buildings and people stranded in the mountains,” Samantha said.
In addition, interruptions in basic services such as electricity were experienced, but they were temporary. “The power went out for a little less than an hour maybe, but they restored it pretty quickly.” Although there was some irregularity in the internet service and the telephone network until noon, “it was still working, that is, it wasn’t like it was cut off.”
This aspect was crucial to maintaining communication with friends and family during the crisis. Samantha said that was how she was able to contact her brother, who also lives in that country, to make sure she was okay.
He also highlighted the effectiveness of the response in Taiwan in maintaining communication systems in times of emergency.
Once telecommunications were restored, he rushed to contact his family in Guatemala, anticipating that they might be surprised by the magnitude of the earthquake in the news. “Yes, yes, also to send them a message that, well, everything was fine,” she described.
Additionally, another aspect he noticed was that tsunami warnings were activated for areas near the coast, extending to Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan. This precautionary measure, according to the Guatemalan, demonstrated the speed and effectiveness of the early warning system in the face of large-magnitude seismic events.
Regarding what she did following the earthquake, the interviewee explained that despite the continuous followingshocks, the work day was resumed once they decreased in intensity.
Read also: Similarities and differences between the earthquake in Taiwan and the one that occurred in Guatemala in 1976
Although he remained at his workplace, he learned that other places suspended their activities, such as the Chinese school attended by his brother, who was also unharmed.
The followingshocks since the earthquake have been considerable, between magnitudes of 5 and 6.5, so the alert continues, he explained. At noon on Wednesday, April 3, in Taiwan, four hours following the earthquake, at least 58 followingshocks had been recorded, two with a magnitude greater than 6.
“Afterwards they were regarding magnitude 4 or 3, they were a little less strong, so we resumed the work day at my company,” he said.
To make a connection with Guatemala, Samantha said that the province of Hualien might be similar to Petén, where there is also a significant population, but its environment is more forested.
Samantha also reflected on the seismic activity in Taiwan and its comparison to Guatemala, and mentioned that this earthquake was the strongest she has experienced in her almost three years of residing in the Asian country, and what she had experienced in her home country.
Despite the fact that they are two highly seismic nations, this earthquake has been a high-impact event for the Taiwanese as it is the strongest earthquake that the island has suffered in 25 years. He described it this way: “It has been quite strong for the Taiwanese. […] Yes, it shakes often, like in Guatemala, but at this level it is not common.”
“In the cities people are a little calmer, there the government has been informed that there may be followingshocks within the next four days,” he added.
Also read: They record the moment when nurses protect newborn babies during the earthquake in Taiwan
Likewise, he indicated that the entire island is closely following the news of what is happening in the affected area. Updates have been published on the firefighters’ page regarding how many people have been rescued or those who may have been trapped in buildings that fell.
“There are also people who, since it was a mountainous part, who hike on that side near the epicenter, there are people who were trapped, people who died in those parts because, well, rocks fell and everything,” he described.
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