Multiple buildings collapse in Hualien, Taiwan after USGS reports magnitude 7.4 earthquake

Multiple buildings collapse in Hualien, Taiwan after USGS reports magnitude 7.4 earthquake

On 3 April 2024, at 07:58:11 NST (23:58:11 UTC on 2 April), a Mw 7.4 earthquake struck 18 km (11 mi) south-southwest of Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan. At least 17 people were killed and over 1,100 were injured in the earthquake. It is the strongest earthquake in Taiwan since the 1999 Jiji earthquake, with several aftershocks above Mw 5.0

Seventeen fatalities have been reported, along with a total of 1,145 people injured and 442 others declared stranded. Two people were listed as missing namely a couple carrying dual Australian and Singaporean nationality. The National Fire Agency recorded at least 1,151 earthquake-related incidents.
All fatalities occurred in Hualien County. Among the dead were four killed in Taroko National Park, including three hikers who were caught in a rockfall. Another person died when rockfalls occurred at the Daqingshui Tunnel along the Suhua Highway and crushed his truck. One person also died after their car was hit by a falling boulder at the parking lot of the Huide Tunnel along the Suhua Highway, while another fatality occurred inside a mine in Hejen after a rock fall. Five members of the same family were killed following a rockfall in Taroko National Park. along with a total of 1,145 people injured and 442 others declared stranded. A woman in Hualien died after she returned to her building to retrieve her cat, during which she was pinned down by a column following an aftershock. The cat was later found trapped between metal bars on a window of the building and was rescued on 9 April along with another cat that was also trapped on a window, during which demolition works were temporarily suspended