Quake fells Taiwan apartment building, at least two dead

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(Earth is rising over the Moon's Surface), Source: https://www.facebook.com/RealEstateSA5000/photos/a.899877783394135.1073741829.899009183480995/920077631374150/?l=734b9eef72 https://youtu.be/Bjr2Ya8Yxls 更多新聞請上TVBS.com.tw 5:57 PM EST | 01:16 Powerful earthquake causes damage in southern Taiwan Quake fells Taiwan apartment building, at least. By Yimou Lee and Pichi Chuang TAINAN, Taiwan (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake toppled a 17-story apartment building in southern Taiwan on Saturday, killing at least two people, including a 10-day-old girl, and triggering frantic efforts to rescue dozens of people feared trapped inside. The baby and a 40-year-old man are the only confirmed deaths from the building, a complex of towers whose floors pancaked down onto to each other when the 6.4 magnitude tremor hit at around 4 a.m. (3.00 p.m. ET), at the start of a Lunar New Year holiday. Rescuers mounted hydraulic ladders and a crane to scour the wreckage, plucking more than 120 survivors to safety, with dozens taken to hospital, a fire brigade official said. Elsewhere in the city of 2 million people, several buildings tilted at alarming angles but a fire department official said rescue efforts were now focused entirely on the apartment block. "I was watching TV and after a sudden burst of shaking, I heard a boom. I opened my metal door and saw the building opposite fall down," said a 71-year-old neighbor who gave his name as Chang. A plumber, he said he fetched some tools and a ladder and prised some window bars open to rescue a woman crying for help. "She asked me to go back and rescue her husband, child, but I was afraid of a gas explosion so I didn't go in. At the time there were more people calling for help, but my ladder wasn't long enough so there was no way to save them." The quake was centered 27 miles (43 km) southeast of Tainan, at a depth of 23 km (14 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said. Several aftershocks shook Tainan, Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said. One elderly woman, wrapped in blankets, was strapped to a board and slowly slid down a ramp to the ground as the cries of those still trapped rang out. Rescuers used dogs and acoustic equipment to pick up signs of life in the rubble. Two dead in 17-story collapsed building in Taiwan: city mayor "There are 60 households in that building," said Tainan fire department information officer Lee Po Min, estimating that there might be about 240 people living there. One city hospital said 58 people had been brought in, most of them with light injuries. The fire department said a total of 115 people had been taken to hospital from around Tainan. SEVERAL BUILDINGS DAMAGED Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, speaking to reporters in the capital before leaving for the disaster scene, said authorities were not clear on the extent of the disaster. "The disaster situation is not very clear yet. We will do our utmost to rescue and secure (survivors)," Ma said. The quake initially cut power to 168,000 households in Tainan, many of whose residents lived through a massive 1999 tremor that killed about 2,400 people. Later, utility Taipower said power had been restored to all but about 900 households. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) (2330.TW), the world's largest contract chipmaker, said some of its wafers made in Tainan had been damaged and some customers might be affected. It did not say which customers. TSMC will step up production to make up for any delayed shipments, spokeswoman Elizabeth Sun said. The company is a major supplier to global smartphone firms, including Apple Inc (AAPL.O) . Taiwan lies in the seismically active "Pacific Ring of Fire". Television quoted Tainan residents as saying the quake felt worse than the 1999 tremor, centered in central Taiwan. China's Taiwan Affairs Office, which in is charge of Beijing's relations with the self-ruled island, said China was willing to provide help if needed, Chinese state news agency Xinhua said. Beijing regards Taiwan as a wayward province. Taiwan's Formosa TV said its reporters could hear the cries of people trapped inside the collapsed apartment tower as firefighters, police and troops swarmed the area. The defence ministry said 810 soldiers had been mobilized for rescue efforts. Firefighters hosed down part of the building to prevent a fire while others used ladders and a crane to enter upper floors. The building appeared to have collapsed onto the first story where a child's clothes fluttered on a laundry line. Some bullet train services were suspended to the south of Taiwan as inspections were carried out on the tracks for damage, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp said in a statement. (Additional reporting by J.R. Wu, Faith Hung, Carol Lee, Eric Walsh, Eric Beech, Elizabeth Dilts and Ben Blanchard; Writing by Mark Bendeich; Editing by Tomasz Janowski, Robert Birsel) ========================== Quake fells Taiwan apartment building, at least five dead Reuters Powerful earthquake causes damage in southern Taiwan (01:16) Replay Survivors hauled to safety after Taiwan quake "Russia must be held accountable" in Syria: Erdogan Thousands flee Syria amid Russian-backed offensive on Aleppo At least two dead in Taiwan earthquake Fri, Feb 5 2016 | 01:16 Powerful earthquake causes damage in southern Taiwan Quake fells Taiwan apartment building, at least...X By Faith Hung and Pichi Chuang TAINAN, Taiwan (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake toppled a 17-story apartment building in southern Taiwan on Saturday, killing at least five people, including a 10-day-old girl, and triggering frantic efforts to rescue about 35 people feared trapped inside. The baby and three of the other dead were from an apartment complex where the floors of a tower block pancaked down onto to each other when the 6.4 magnitude tremor hit at around 4 a.m. (3.00 p.m. ET), at the start of a Lunar New Year holiday. Rescuers mounted hydraulic ladders and a crane to scour the wreckage, plucking 221 survivors to safety so far, with dozens taken to hospital, a fire brigade official said. Elsewhere in the city of 2 million people, several buildings tilted at alarming angles but a fire department official said rescue efforts were now focused entirely on the apartment block, where a child's clothes fluttered from a first-floor laundry line and the smell of leaking gas hung in the air. "I was watching TV and after a sudden burst of shaking, I heard a boom. I opened my metal door and saw the building opposite fall down," said a 71-year-old neighbor who gave his name as Chang. A plumber, he said he fetched some tools and a ladder and prised some window bars open to rescue a woman crying for help. "She asked me to go back and rescue her husband, child, but I was afraid of a gas explosion so I didn't go in. At the time there were more people calling for help, but my ladder wasn't long enough so there was no way to save them." The quake was centered 43 km (27 miles) southeast of Tainan, at a depth of 23 km (14 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said. Several aftershocks shook Tainan, Taiwan's weather bureau said. One elderly woman, wrapped in blankets, was strapped to a board and slowly slid down a ramp to the ground as the cries of those still trapped rang out. Rescuers used dogs and acoustic equipment to pick up signs of life in the rubble. Authorities said there were 92 households and 256 people living in the collapsed apartment building, but they did not know how many were actually there when the quake struck. TSMC says first-quarter shipments unaffected by quake, no damage at other Apple suppliers The fire department said 115 people had been taken to hospital from around Tainan. SEVERAL BUILDINGS DAMAGED Tainan mayor William Lai said it was too early to say if shoddy construction was responsible for the devastation at the apartment complex with the 17-storey tower which collapsed. "We will chase the legal responsibility later," he told reporters. President Ma Ying-jeou visited an emergency center and hospital in Tainan while President-elect Tsai Ing-wen canceled appointments to help coordinate rescue efforts. China's Taiwan Affairs Office, which in is charge of Beijing's relations with the self-ruled island, said China was willing to provide help if needed, Chinese state news agency Xinhua said. Beijing regards Taiwan as a wayward province. The quake initially cut power to 168,000 households in Tainan, many of whose residents lived through a massive 1999 tremor that killed about 2,400 people. Later, utility Taipower said power had been restored to all but about 900 households. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) (2330.TW), the world's largest contract chipmaker, said some of its wafers made in Tainan had been damaged and some customers might be affected, though first-quarter shipments remained on track. TSMC will step up production to make up for any delayed shipments, spokeswoman Elizabeth Sun said. It is a big supplier to global smartphone firms, including Apple Inc (AAPL.O). Other major Apple suppliers in Taiwan reported no impact on operations. Taiwan lies in the seismically active "Pacific Ring of Fire". Television quoted Tainan residents as saying the quake felt worse than the 1999 tremor, centered in central Taiwan. Taiwan's defense ministry said 810 soldiers had been mobilized for rescue efforts. Authorities said cracks had been found in a dam but there was no immediate danger. Some bullet train services were suspended to the south as track inspections were carried out, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp said in a statement. (Reporting by Faith Hung and Pichi Chuang; Additional reporting by Yimou Lee, J.R. Wu, Carol Lee, Eric Walsh, Eric Beech, Elizabeth Dilts, Jeanny Kao and Ben Blanchard; Writing by Mark Bendeich; Editing by Robert Birsel and Christopher Cushing) =================== Death toll at collapsed building in Taiwanese city reaches 114 as rescue efforts end 1:11 PM EST | 00:45 Rescue efforts end in Taiwan Death toll at collapsed building in Taiwanese city.TAIPEI (Reuters) - The death toll at a building that collapsed from a strong earthquake in southern Taiwan reached 114 as rescue efforts came to an end on Saturday, a week after the temblor hit. "The search and rescue has come to an end," said Tainan Mayor William Lai, in remarks carried live on local television, identifying the last individual to be pulled out from the rubble as Hsieh Chen-yu, who was part of the fallen building's management committee. All of those believed missing in the building have now been accounted for, city officials said. The 6.4-magnitude quake struck at early dawn on Feb. 6 at the beginning of the Lunar New Year holiday, with almost all of the dead found in Tainan's toppled Wei-guan Golden Dragon Building. Two other people died elsewhere in the city. Rescue work has focused on the wreckage of the 17-storey building. The building had 256 registered residents but when more than that number were pulled out in the initial days after the quake, it became clear more people were in the building when it toppled. Of a total 289 people pulled out, 175 were alive with 96 of them taken to the hospital, Lai said. No survivors had been brought out since Monday evening, when more than 100 were still reported missing. RELATED VIDEO Video 00:47 Search and recovery efforts over after Taiwan earthquake The Wei-guan was the only major high-rise building in the city of two million people to have completely collapsed. Its lower storeys, filled with arcades of shops, pancaked on top of each other before the entire U-shaped complex toppled in on itself. Local authorities are investigating the reasons for the building's collapse and earlier this week took into custody three individuals, including the developer of the Wei-guan Golden Dragon Building, on suspicion of professional negligent homicide. No one has yet been formally charged. (Reporting by J.R. Wu; Editing by Richard Pullin) ====