An awful day in Taiwan, and it could have been much worse

Wednesday’s 7.4 magnitude earthquake was an uncomfortable reminder that this beautiful island has more to worry about than just the People’s Liberation Army.

Bottles strewn on the floor of a supermarket in Yilan. Picture: AFP

It’s not uncommon for our apartment in Taipei to sway. That’s life on the 12th floor of a building that sits on a tectonic fault line in the “Pacific Ring of Fire”.

Yet even by the standards of the stoic Taiwanese, Wednesday was wobbly.

The most jolting of the day’s more than 20 earthquakes toppled my wife’s computer off her desk, along with most of the books in the study.

Paintings fell off the walls. Glass bottles were smashed in the kitchen. Our one-year-old’s room was left a mess.

A picture frame shattered on the floor – his clothes and toys shook off shelves.

He was with my wife having his breakfast porridge as the biggest earthquake in 25 years hit Taiwan.

I found them taking cover under our table.

Seconds after we put him down for his morning nap, another aftershock hit, scaring him all over again. It was an awful way to start the day.

That was scary in our Taipei apartment — paintings and glassware smashed and our baby’s room a mess.

Looks like it was much worse in Hualien.

And the aftershocks keep coming.

Dreading there might be some grim news in Taiwan today. https://t.co/u42JmyJx61pic.twitter.com/5OQil8GP55

— Will Glasgow (@wmdglasgow) April 3, 2024

Yet it was nothing like the scenes down in Hualien, some 150km away on Taiwan’s sparsely populated east coast and near the epicentre of the 7.4-magnitude earthquake.

At least nine people were killed, and more than 800 people injured. As I went to bed, more than 50 people were still trapped in tunnels and under the rubble of dozens of collapsed buildings near Hualien, as rescue operations continued.

And with the aftershocks continuing, things could get grimmer. Another three tremors have hit as I write this piece, taking the total above 50 for the day. Some registered more than six on the Richter scale – big enough to make headlines on less convulsive days.

Taiwan has experienced much worse. In 1999, a 7.6- magnitude earthquake struck closer to Taipei and killed nearly 2500 and damaged more than 100,000 homes. It remains the biggest disaster in Taiwan’s democratic era and led to an overhaul of the island’s building code.

Those stricter rules have made Taiwan much more resilient and much safer.

But Wednesday’s rumblings were an uncomfortable reminder that this beautiful island has more to worry about than just the People’s Liberation Army across the Taiwan Strait in China.